In a recent blog post titled AI is Creating a Generation of Illiterate Programmers, the author explores the growing overreliance on AI tools in programming and the potential for this to erode foundational skills. As someone who has been in the tech industry for decades, this topic hit close to home for me and reminded me of several science fiction cautionary tales about technology dependency.

This theme is famously explored in H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. In the novel, the surface-dwelling Eloi live in a utopian existence, their every need fulfilled by the underground Morlocks. Over time, the Eloi's reliance on the Morlocks leads to their intellectual and physical decline. This allegory feels strikingly relevant to the concern raised in the blog: if programmers depend too heavily on AI to do the work for them, they risk losing their critical problem-solving and technical skills, the very foundation of their craft.

Star Trek tackled this issue long before the modern era of AI. In The Ultimate Computer (TOS), the Enterprise tests the M-5 computer, an advanced AI system capable of running the entire ship more efficiently than a human crew. The crew is relegated to bystanders, and when the system inevitably malfunctions, the consequences are catastrophic. This episode underscores the dangers of sidelining human expertise in favor of machine efficiency.

Another relevant episode is For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (TOS), where a society blindly obeys an ancient AI system called The Oracle. Over generations, their unquestioning faith in the Oracle has left them incapable of understanding their true situation or making independent decisions. Both episodes demonstrate the perils of technology taking the lead while humans lose the ability to think critically.

This idea of overreliance on technology has been a recurring theme in countless sci-fi stories, often acting as a warning about losing our edge as we become too comfortable letting machines take over. The blog's solution of implementing No-AI Days to force programmers to engage more deeply with their work feels like a modern-day attempt to reclaim what has been lost.

For me, AI is a tool, a way to speed up tasks that I already know how to do but would take me a long time to complete manually. I'm a one-man-band, so I don't have a staff or a secretary that I can give simple tasks to. AI fulfills that need for me. For example, when I am processing video transcripts, correcting spelling and grammar is easy but time-consuming, so I let AI handle it. Similarly, writing quiz questions for my tutorials is well within my skill set, but using AI saves time.

When it comes to writing code, I don't ask AI to do anything I don't understand myself. Instead, I use it to handle tedious or lengthy tasks, like translating code into JavaScript, Python, or PowerShell. I know VBA like the back of my hand, but syntax in these other languages can be a killer, and AI makes it easier. I am not relying on AI to do the actual thinking for me. The algorithms are from my head. I just need help with the format.

These are skills that I have already taken years to develop. I have so far spent 44 years of my life learning how to program (yeah, I'm old), so I've already developed that skill set. Even going back to proofreading text, I spent my youth perfecting my English and grammar. I am an excellent writer and do not need AI to do these things for me; it just makes them quicker. And yes, that was me actually using a semicolon - not AI. I have found that AI definitely does overuse certain things like semicolons, em-dashes, and phrases like "delve info."

I am not suggesting that we let school children rely on AI to correct their grammar for them. That is something you have to learn through trial and error. It is the same thing with math. You have to learn basic arithmetic even though you have a calculator on you at all times nowadays. Those of you who are my age remember what our teachers back in the 80s said: "you are never going to have a calculator with you all the time, every day." While they were wrong, you still have to learn those basic math skills before relying on a calculator to do them for you all the time. Otherwise, you do not understand what you are doing. You're just punching buttons. The same thing applies to grammar and programming.

That said, I will admit it: if OpenAI goes down, I will wait for it to come back online before I tackle those transcripts or write quiz questions myself. Time is money, and AI helps me be more efficient, but it is no substitute for genuine expertise. I'll spend my time preparing the next class or recording the next video and then come back later when OpenAI is working to proofread those transcripts.

And yes, full disclosure: I used ChatGPT to proofread this article. I'll usually voice-dictate my thoughts and have it clean the text up for me. It turns a task that would normally take me an hour to write myself into a quick 10 minute joy that I love to start my day with. The thoughts are still mine, just cleaned up a little bit by my secretary.

As Captain Kirk said in The Ultimate Computer: "The machine is only a tool. It is the man who uses it that matters." It is a good reminder to keep control of the tools we use, ensuring they enhance rather than replace our skills.