The elephant in the room
As you might have noticed, the past few years AI has been gaining traction and is now being used in many different fields. In the world of programming, AI can be a powerful tool for automating tasks, generating code, and assisting with debugging. However, it also comes with its own set of challenges and limitations.
I want to make a case against it. AI might not be inherently evil but it creates dependency and reduces critical thinking skills. This means that if you make a lot of use of it, you will probably never be good enough and you will always have to rely on it.
To add to that, AI doesn't really think like a human. It processes information based on patterns and data it has been trained on, rather than understanding concepts in the way humans do. Answers are not logical per se, it just gives you what it finds.
When using AI for everything you don't learn enough and eventually the project becomes too much to handle. Even professionals have this problem where the code they generate is not fully understood by them and after a while they feel a decline in their skills. And, as the project becomes bigger it becomes really hard to maintain and debug the code.
Worst thing of all, for a lot of programmers, programming is no longer fun because of AI.
Pros:
- Easier to complete tasks for beginners
- You can actually 'make' something even if you have no skills
- Increased productivity (AI can handle repetitive tasks, allowing humans to focus on more complex and creative work)
- Time-saving (AI can perform tasks faster than humans, freeing up time for other activities)
- Code hinting in the editor is quite good
- Now and then you can learn new things from AI suggestions
Cons for you:
- Unreliable (AI systems can make errors or be biased. It might work for smaller projects but not for larger, more complex tasks).
- Job displacement (the more AI is used, the fewer jobs are available for humans)
- Brain drain (over-reliance on AI can lead to a decline in human cognitive skills)
- Dependency (over-reliance on AI leads to a lack of critical thinking and problem-solving skills and now you can be easily manipulated and replaced)
- AI gets stuck in loops. It doesn't handle complex, dynamic situations well and since you haven't trained yourself, neither do you.
- It takes the fun away from programming. Programming can be challenging but it's exactly because of that, that it's so fun and rewarding to solve these problems.
- If you know what you're doing, AI will drive you absolutely nuts.
Cons for the world:
- Unethical (AI blatantly disregards ethical considerations in decision-making)
- Energy consumption (AI systems require significant computational power, leading to high energy usage)
- Economic impact (AI can lead to economic disparities - High ram prices, anyone?)
- No creativity (AI lacks genuine creativity and innovation, relying on existing data and patterns)
- Privacy concerns (AI systems can collect and analyze vast amounts of personal data, raising privacy issues)
(There are WAY more Cons
btw)