You’ve heard of using AI tools to automate repetitive tasks or even tell jokes, but have you considered what it could teach you, instead of do for you? Don’t get us wrong: the potential of artificial intelligence to help us with tasks or responsibilities that are time-consuming or data-heavy is vast, but few people are taking full advantage of the potential of AI when it comes to helping you learn, pick up new skills, and make yourself more employable.
Learning to code with artificial intelligence is a great use of the power of AI and one that will have direct benefits on your career and skill set. It isn’t going to be capable of making you a master coder overnight, however, and you still must focus on getting practical experience and taking what you’ve learned and applying it to real-world situations.
In this article, we’ll explore the advantages of learning to code with artificial intelligence and how it can help you; we’ll also dive deep into important considerations to keep in mind while embarking on your AI-fueled coding journey.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
Learning to Code
Before we’re deep in programming with AI, we want to answer one burning question: if AI can write code for us, detect bugs, and generally work faster than us, is it still worth learning how to code?! The answer is a resounding yes and this is why:
Lots of AI tools in the programming world seek to make the life of a developer easier, and not do their work for them. That’s why having a solid foundation of what coding is and how to code is absolutely essential, regardless of what AI tools you might use.
Learning how to develop doesn’t just teach you how to write lines of code; it will also help hone your problem-solving skills so that you’re able to tackle new forms of challenges in different ways and find the right solution for each problem.
Coding skills are versatile and can be used for a wide range of roles, including AI-specific roles that are looking for developers to help develop the AI machines that will help future developers. So if you’d like to learn how to code and work with AI, you’re in luck.
Even though AI has advanced considerably in recent years, it can’t yet do everything and that’s why coding skills can help you create innovative and never before seen programs that AI simply can’t create.
Most importantly, remember that we still (and always will!) need human developers who can not only use human intelligence to come up with solutions, but also fully understand their user in a way only another human can. Even though AI technology wishes to reach a point where it’s able to fully mimic human decision-making, the emotional and empathetic aspect of this is quite the challenge.
AI is limited in these areas and developers who can bring both the programming skills and a human understanding to the table will continue to be highly demanded in today’s job market.
If you’re sold and want to get started on your coding journey, take a look at four of the most important qualities that programmers have:
Logical thinking: you probably saw this one coming--programmers should be able to think logically to solve problems and propose solutions; even if you’re the best coder, bugs will arise and finding logical and innovative ways to solve them is essential.
Problem solving: we mentioned this above, but it’s so important we’ll repeat it. Problem solving is probably one of the most crucial skills in developers and is the difference between an okay coder and a great one.
Creativity: in the world of coding, especially with AI, there’s truly no limit to what developers can achieve, but this requires a level of creativity that allows them to think outside the box.
Teamwork: as a developer, you’ll pretty much always be part of a larger team and knowing how to work with other programmers and UX/UI designers, product managers, and cyber experts is a necessary part of the job.
Learning to Program with AI
You can enrich your coding experience with AI, but AI is a valuable resource for any sort of learning. Why? Well:
AI can accelerate the learning process: with customized lessons that are tailored to your knowledge, goals, and speed, you’ll be learning exactly what you need to know and reinforcing areas where you’re struggling, helping the entire process be perfectly optimized.
AI provides instant feedback: with AI, you don’t have to wait for a teacher to grade your work; you can get in the moment feedback on your work so that you’re able to see exactly where you can improve.
AI can give you practice material: for areas like coding or really anything where you need to put what you’ve learned into practice to truly get the hang of it, AI tools can provide you with a nearly infinite number of exercises so that you can practice as much as possible.
As you can see, AI has enhanced the educational world and will continue to do so. And the field of programming is no exception.
Coding with AI
Now that you’re convinced of both the importance of learning how to code in today’s AI-filled industry and how AI can enrich the learning experience, let’s bring the two together and see how using AI to teach you how to code can help your career spring forward.
Online courses
Online courses have always been available to you, but with the help of AI, these courses are now more personalized towards you and your goals, tracking your progress, suggesting new topics, and providing interactive tools so that you’re able to enrich your learning process. And as you learn more and perform well on exercises, the course will introduce new, more complicated topics to keep you engaged.
Immediate feedback
Lots of AI coding tools provide real-time feedback to you, highlighting room for improvement or making suggestions on the code you’ve written so that you’re able to fix it in the moment and advance accordingly. Many are also able to provide explanations for their suggestions, guaranteeing you truly understand why the change suggested is better.
Award-driven programs
If you work well with recognition and want to feel like you’re advancing and being rewarded for what you’ve learned, you’ll appreciate the achievements and badges that some AI learning programs give to users as they advance.
Straightforward explanations
Confused about a concept? Or don’t understand when to use one option over another? This is completely normal in any field, and especially when you’re first starting out. Luckily for you, however, AI tools are able to interact with humans through normal conversation and you can ask any questions you may have or ask the tool to reword its explanation if you’re not quite getting it yet.
And as you begin your AI coding education, keep the following tips in mind:
Browse a few platforms and tools before you make a final decision, trying them out and figuring out which is the best fit for your needs.
Figure out what your goals are before you start a course so that you’re able to tailor your learning experience to your specific situation.
Start slow and don’t get carried away: there’s a lot to learn, but making sure you know the basics is essential.
Take advantage of online communities where you can discuss trends and problems with like-minded future coders.
AI can definitely enrich your coding journey–if you know how to use it right. And AI School by Ironhack is the perfect place to learn the necessary AI skills to elevate your career, no matter what field you’re in.
Take a look at our courses and let us know: where will you begin?!
