I started programming Z80 assembly language on my TI calculator when I was 13.

I wrote code like this:

Start:

ld hl,

FPNum1

call $42D7

call $4263

call $4A7E

call $4A86

call $4A95

ld hl,title

ld de,$c324

ld bc,51

And it would compile into gibberish like this:

¡2˝¿>02¡!÷ÊÕCÁÕ°fiÕ°fiÕCÁÕ°fiÕ°fiÕCÁÕ°fiÕ°fi!:ÁÕCÁ!:ÁÕCÁ√ŸÕÇJÕ˜fi!�¸°‚>C2¡Õfl…ÌK¡ÌC¡>2�¡Õ¡Ÿ:˝¿˛� A€˛ˇ A€>

Every programming language is an abstraction layer that makes it easier for humans to interface with machines.

So when a “real” programmer tells you that using AI isn’t coding, unless they are literally writing machine code on a TextEdit doc (or directly manipulating physical transistors like Steve Wozniak did), they are benefiting from the exact same abstraction layers that have made modern programming possible for decades.

Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for the insanely talented programmers whose mathematical and logical genius forms the underpinning of our entire society. And I don’t believe that we should toss them aside like yesterday’s garbage.

I just believe that AI is the next evolution of programming languages, nothing more. And in the hands of experts, these tools become even more powerful.

Coding is a way of looking at the world, using logic and problem solving. Everything else is just a means to an end.