Google’s head of research on whether ‘learn to code’ is still good advice in the age of AI

• Google’s head of research told BI that learning to code continues to be a valuable skill.
• Yossi Matias compared coding to math and said learning “basic disciplines” is “as important as ever.”
• He also said people should remember AI isn’t just in chatbots — and it’s going to transform a number of fields.

The slogan “learn to code” was popularized in the 2010s. A decade later, Google’s head of research says the advice still rings true — even in the age of AI.

“I think that the basic notion of learning the basic disciplines remains as important as ever,” Yossi Matias, Google’s head of research, told Business Insider in an interview at the company’s Chelsea office in New York.

That may come as a surprise to some as companies increasingly lean on AI for some coding duties. With the emergence of tools like GitHub Copilot, one Microsoft manager recently told BI that he estimated 70% of his time spent coding has been reduced.

The industry’s shift has led some software engineers to worry about the future of their jobs and caused some anxiety among college students pursuing the traditional coding pathway through a computer science degree.

Matias, who is also a VP at Google and spent over a decade in leadership at Google Search, said that some junior professionals in recent years have faced “some challenges” in getting “the experience that they want.”

The nature of AI is to help out “on some of the more junior level” tasks, he said, “which may or may not have some impact on things.” Google has sponsored initiatives to help junior employees go through that stage, he added.

Despite the work evolving, Matias said that AI isn’t taking over the whole coding process. Even though Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said that a quarter of all code is now generated by AI, he also noted it’s still reviewed and accepted by engineers.

Matias said he still believes “everybody should learn how to code.” In fact, the basics may be more important now than ever, he said.

“Perhaps even more so now, there are going to be many more opportunities to actually build on that,” Matias said.

AI will impact a wide range of fields

Matias said that even those who don’t want to become software engineers should understand how technology works, similar to how people still need to understand math even if computers can do the most complex calculations.

“I think that basic coding is like basic math,” Matias said. “You need to understand what’s going on there.”

While the launch of ChatGPT two years ago ignited the generative AI race and made the technology a mainstream topic, AI research has been a cornerstone of tech giants like Google for over 20 years.

Matias said that AI will boost practically every field, especially biology, chemistry, and medicine. He said it’s becoming “both a tool and a science.”

“It’s not only chatbots,” Matias said.

Google Research has already integrated AI into tools like flood forecasting models, which Matias said can save lives. It has also created image classification tools that can be used for healthcare.

“We got some testimonials from people that say, this might’ve saved my life because I got some information that got me to see a doctor,” Matias said.

The executive said that the healthcare industry presents “a huge opportunity” for AI to transform society. Given the global shortage of healthcare workers, technology can help make the industry more productive and equitable, and can also help with identification, he said.

Matias also named education as an industry that could be transformed by AI. He said AI could be integrated in a number of ways, like creating interactive quizzes and making education more effective and engaging.

With AI impacting so many fields, Matias said “it’s important to master the basic things,” like the fundamentals of coding.