Is coding an important skill in the age of AI? A Microsoft executive may have the answer. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer for Experiences & Devices, Aparna Chennapragada, strongly defended the importance of learning to code—despite the rapid rise of AI tools that can now generate large parts of software. Rejecting the idea that AI might soon replace human programmers, she said, “Betting against computer science is like betting against reading in the 14th century”. When asked by Bloomberg’s Emily Chang if children still need to learn to code and companies still need engineers, Chennapragada gave an emphatic “Yes, yes, and yes”. She explained that coding is about more than just writing lines of instructions. “It’s that logical thinking, critical thinking” skills she said that become more important as developers collaborate with AI systems.“If you’re going to work with AI-generated code, guess what? You need more of it,” she added, pointing out that human engineers are still essential for reviewing, testing, and securing code produced by AI tools.
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Is coding still an essential skill for future professionals in the age of AI?
Her remarks reflect a broader industry view. Executives from companies like Cognizant and Okta have said AI helps junior engineers grow faster, but demand for experienced coders remains strong. Startups continue hiring senior developers to manage AI-generated code, according to a Reuters report.
What Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said about coding in the age of AI
Sharing advice for aspiring tech professionals, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently said that despite AI’s growing role in coding, the ability to break down problems logically and design systematic solutions remains essential. However, he warned that even with AI, success still depends on giving clear, structured instructions—a skill that blends technical knowledge with systems thinking.“The path to being that software architect gets speeded up,” Satya Nadella said, adding that soon, “All of us are going to be more software architects.”Satya Nadella emphasized that getting fundamentals of software is still important. “Just getting real fundamentals on sort of software (if you’re a software engineer), I think matters a lot.” Adding further, he said “To me, having the ability to think computationally (is important).”
