AI, learning, and the fear of becoming irrelevant

As a software developer, should you be afraid for your job?

I honestly couldn’t say. Maybe we should. But no one can predict the future, not even all the confident developers sharing their opinions online.

What I can say is this: you should be concerned with your learning.

Now, what right do I have to tell you that?

Well, I’m not only a software developer. I also have a formal education in … education. I actually know a bit about what it takes for people to learn.

Here’s the secret: you learn when you explain things. Out loud or in writing. Some would say even more in writing.

And I don’t mean you have to fully understand something before you explain it. I mean quite literally that you learn it in the act of explaining it. Your brain processes it, organizes it, and stores it while you’re writing.

So the real question becomes: if you’re not writing code yourself anymore, are you still learning? And how do you keep learning?

I know writing code isn’t the same as explaining something in words. But I still believe a big part of learning happens in the act of writing the code itself. That’s where you actually think. That’s where you struggle a bit, make decisions, and work things out.

I’m not saying you can’t learn with AI. I think you can. But you have to be very aware that learning is what you’re trying to do. Otherwise, you’re just getting answers.

If you want to learn, write down what you understood afterward. Even just a few lines.

And one more thing: learning is uncomfortable. It’s frustrating.

If what you’re doing feels easy, smooth, and kind of nice… you’re probably not learning much.