“code is poetry.” this is wordpress’s slogan and i always liked it. because writing code is not just about making stuff work. it’s an art. when you read someone’s clean, well-written code, you can feel the thinking behind it. it’s like reading a good sentence. rhythm, clarity, purpose. that’s why it’s poetry, not just instructions.

but lately, ai is changing how we write code. and i have some thoughts about it.

the good part

okay let me be honest, ai tools are really useful. i use them too. they save time, they handle the boring parts, and they let you focus on the actual problem. it’s like having a friend who remembers every stack overflow answer. nothing wrong with that.

if you already know what you’re doing, ai just makes you faster. that’s great.

the bad part

but here’s what i think about. what happens when people just copy what ai gives them without understanding it? if you never learned why something works, you can’t fix it when it breaks. and trust me, it will break.

i think we’re going to see a lot more code in the world. and most of it will be bad. not because ai writes bad code, but because people who don’t really understand code will just ship whatever ai gives them. the bar to create something will be lower, sure. but the bar to create something good is still the same.

the funny thing

people keep saying ai will kill software engineering. i think this is really funny. have you ever tried to explain a weird business requirement to another human engineer? now try explaining it to a machine. good luck :)

software is not just writing code. it’s understanding problems, making decisions, and sometimes spending 3 hours on something that turns out to be a typo. ai can help you write, but the thinking part? that’s still on you.

so what

look, i’m not against ai. i think it’s one of the best tools we got. but i also think you should learn the basics first. understand what’s happening. use ai as a tool, not as a brain replacement.

code is poetry. but if you don’t understand the language, you’re just putting random words together. and that’s not poetry, that’s just noise.