A few days ago, I was teaching my daughter how to cook a simple dish. She had all the modern kitchen gadgets lined up — air fryer, blender, oven, everything. Yet the food didn’t turn out the way she expected.
I told her what I’ve learned the hard way over decades: great tools don’t make you a great cook. Understanding the fundamentals does.
The same applies to programming today — especially in the age of AI.
The article by the Godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, reinforces this point again. With AI writing code, suggesting solutions, even generating entire modules, many youngsters wonder: “Do I still need to learn to code? Should I even bother with computer science fundamentals?”
My answer is simple: Yes. Absolutely. Don’t run away from the basics.
AI Makes You Faster, Not Smarter
In my 25+ years in tech — from writing bare-metal C programs to building cloud systems on Azure — one thing has remained constant:
If you don’t understand what you’re building, no framework or tool can save you.
I’ve seen juniors copy-paste perfect-looking code from StackOverflow and now from AI tools… only to collapse when they hit concurrency issues, memory pressure, unexpected data patterns, or scale problems.
AI can help you:
Write cleaner code
Explore alternatives
Generate boilerplate
Speed up delivery
But AI cannot think for you. Not yet. And not in a way that replaces fundamentals.
The Programmer’s “Masala”: The Skills You Can’t Ignore
Just like every good cook knows heat, timing, texture, and spices…
Every good programmer must master:
Logic & Analytical Thinking
Data Structures & Algorithms
Basic Statistics
Design Patterns & Architecture Principles
Problem Decomposition
Understanding of memory, compute, and data flow
These are non-negotiable.
Without them, you’re just a button-pusher waiting for the next tool to arrive.
Why This Matters Even More in the AI Era
AI will level the playing field for basic tasks. Everyone will be able to “write code.”
But the ones who truly understand how systems work will:
Build better products
Debug complex failures
Architect scalable solutions
Use AI properly instead of depending on it
In my teams, the difference is obvious. A strong engineer uses AI as an accelerator. A weak engineer hides behind it and hopes nobody notices.
Don’t Give Up on Becoming a Real Engineer
Cooking instruments don’t make the cook.
AI tools don’t make the programmer.
If you want a long, meaningful career in tech, invest in the boring, old-school fundamentals. They’ve survived every wave of technological change — and they’ll survive AI too.
Master the basics. Use AI as leverage. Not as a crutch.
Reference
First published on LinkedIn.