Just learn it, you better with it in the long run

I'm starting to incorporate AI into my everyday tasks. Although many of these tasks are trivial, such as CRUD operations and parsing, being able to describe what you want and having AI complete the job saves time. However, not all of my work consists of creating CRUD operations. Sometimes, I need to connect different systems, optimize processes, or conduct research.

Today, I was working at a café and noticed my desk mate using AI to generate code. Me too. But what made me chuckle was how he repeatedly asked the AI to fix simple issues. These were trivial problems like centering elements in CSS or forgetting to include an onClick handler.

what a clown, why not learn it and you can fix it yourself - my inner voice

Obviously, I didn't want to start a confrontation with someone I just met, nor did I want to discourage young, aspiring software engineers. AI requires more context to function effectively, and simply saying "It's still not centered" in your prompt won't fix the issue on the first try. Why invest time in software development if you don't want to understand how the components work together?

I don't know every CSS rule, but I care enough to learn how some of them work and how to fix bugs. This situation reminds me of Jonathan Blow's talks; it feels like things are starting to unravel.

On one hand, experienced software developers benefit significantly from AI. On the other hand, new programmers seem clueless.

What a world we live in. I hope this individual finds this post thought-provoking.