In January 2023, ChatGPT was just starting to emerge. At that time, Andrej Karpathy, Tesla’s former AI director, said, “The hottest new programming language is English.” While he wasn’t the first to make this claim, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that his prediction is coming true.
There’s evidence of this in new apps and development environments that integrate advanced artificial intelligence tools. These tools no longer simply suggest or complete code as they have in the past. They now enable users to achieve something remarkable: Programming without programming.
The new chatbots embedded in these platforms don’t require knowledge of languages like C++, JavaScript, and Python. Instead, users simply need to communicate their requests clearly. If you articulate what you want and how you want it, chances are you won’t need to write a single line of code.
GitHub Copilot, which has been impressing users for three years, is a notable example. Additionally, lesser-known platforms, such as Cursor AI, Bolt, Replit, and V0, also offer the intriguing possibility of “programming in English.” This means you no longer need to write code as has traditionally been done.
Karpathy’s original prediction was later echoed by influential figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. In early 2024, he claimed that programming was no longer a skill individuals should learn because AI would take care of it.
Similarly, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai recently pointed out that programmers will move away from writing code and instead will review the code generated by AI. Mark Garman, the newly appointed Amazon Web Services CEO, has also emphasized that the task of programming will increasingly fall to AI.
These statements reflect the significant impact AI is having on the programming field. A GitHub survey conducted in the summer of 2023 revealed that 92% of programmers used AI-based programming tools. While it’s true that AI can make mistakes in coding, these models have evolved into powerful assistants for developers.
It appears likely that AI will eventually be responsible for writing most of the code we need. Programmers will still play a vital role in correcting and refining that code, allowing them to concentrate on these tasks rather than on more tedious aspects of coding.
In this evolving landscape, the primary language for developing apps and services will probably shift to English. The focus may not be on mastering programming languages like C++, JavaScript, and Python, but rather on effectively communicating your ideas to the machine in English.
In other words, it’ll be sufficient to articulate requests clearly. People are gradually becoming adept at doing this by crafting increasingly precise prompts that help chatbots understand their needs.
It seems programming will never be the same again. In the short term, programmers will remain crucial for creating various apps and services. However, the pressing question may not be whether AI will eventually displace them, but when that might occur.
Image | Rahul Mishra
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