Is It Still Worth Learning to Code in 2026?
AI is changing software engineering faster than most people expected, and I see a lot of students stuck between two extremes.
One side thinks coding is over. The other thinks AI just magically fixes everything. In this talk, I break down what AI is actually good at, where it falls short, and how software engineers can adapt to stay valuable in the future.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Are we cooked or are we good? The AI divide
1:08 - Why students and early engineers are confused
2:23 - How AI tools evolved from helpers to power tools
3:09 - Layoffs, fear, and why companies are betting on AI
6:59 - What AI still can’t do: nuance, creativity, innovation
8:02 - Why real breakthroughs come from humans
8:24 - My advice: find real problems and use AI to solve them
10:12 - The future role of software engineers
11:17 - Context engineering as the new core skill
12:06 - How coding interviews are changing
13:27 - What I’d focus on if I were a student today