I disagree with the premise of the article -- for several reasons. You could argue that an LLM-based assistant is just a bigger footgun, sure. Nothing will replace a teacher who explains the big picture and the context. Nothing will replace learning how to manage, handle and solve problems. But having a tireless, nimble assistant can be a valuable learning tool.
Web development is full of arbitrary, frustrating nonsense, layered on and on by an endless parade of contributors who insist on reinventing the wheel while making it anything but round. Working with a substantial web codebase can often feel like wading through a utility tunnel flooded with sewage. LLMs are actually a fantastic hot blade that cuts through most of the self-inflicted complexities. Don't learn webpack, why would you waste time on that. Grunt, gulp, burp? Who cares, it's just another in a long line of abominations careening towards a smouldering trash heap. It's not important to learn how most of that stuff works. Let the AI bot churn through that nonsense.
If you don't have a grasp on the basics, using an LLM as your primary coding tool will quickly leave you with a tangle of incomprehensible, incoherent code. Even with solid foundations and experience, it's very easy to go just a little too far into the generative fairytale.
But writing code is just a small part of software development. While reading code doesn't seem to get talked about as much, it's the bread and butter of any non-solo project. It's also a very good way to learn -- look at how others have solved a problem. Chances that you're the first person trying to do X are infinitesimally small, especially as a beginner. Here, LLMs can be quite valuable to a beginner. Having a tool that can explain what a piece of terse code does, or why things are a certain way -- I would've loved to have that when I was learning the trade.
Web development is full of arbitrary, frustrating nonsense, layered on and on by an endless parade of contributors who insist on reinventing the wheel while making it anything but round. Working with a substantial web codebase can often feel like wading through a utility tunnel flooded with sewage. LLMs are actually a fantastic hot blade that cuts through most of the self-inflicted complexities. Don't learn webpack, why would you waste time on that. Grunt, gulp, burp? Who cares, it's just another in a long line of abominations careening towards a smouldering trash heap. It's not important to learn how most of that stuff works. Let the AI bot churn through that nonsense.
If you don't have a grasp on the basics, using an LLM as your primary coding tool will quickly leave you with a tangle of incomprehensible, incoherent code. Even with solid foundations and experience, it's very easy to go just a little too far into the generative fairytale.
But writing code is just a small part of software development. While reading code doesn't seem to get talked about as much, it's the bread and butter of any non-solo project. It's also a very good way to learn -- look at how others have solved a problem. Chances that you're the first person trying to do X are infinitesimally small, especially as a beginner. Here, LLMs can be quite valuable to a beginner. Having a tool that can explain what a piece of terse code does, or why things are a certain way -- I would've loved to have that when I was learning the trade.