I'm about to start Harvard's free introductory programming course and want to build a strong foundation. Since AI is becoming common in software development, should I use it as part of my learning from the beginning, or should I first study the fundamentals traditionally and only add AI later? If AI can be useful for beginners, what's the best way to use it without weakening my problem-solving skills?
4 Answers
Learn the basics first, especially programming logic, debugging, and problem solving. AI is only helpful when you already know enough to judge whether its code and explanations are correct. Otherwise, it becomes an easy shortcut and you may finish exercises without actually learning.
A useful middle ground is to try each exercise independently before asking for help. If you get stuck, ask AI to point out what concept you’re missing or to give a small hint, not to provide the finished program. You should still be able to explain every line and solve a similar problem without assistance.
I’d avoid using AI to solve problems for you at the beginning. You need to learn how to break a problem down, reason through it, and recognize when an answer is wrong. Those skills are more important than simply producing code, and relying on AI too early can slow that growth.
You don’t have to ban AI forever. Once you understand the fundamentals, use it like a tutor rather than a code generator. Explain your approach first, ask for hints or questions instead of complete solutions, and make it explain why a suggestion works. Then rewrite and test the solution yourself.
That makes sense. I hadn’t considered how difficult it would be to notice incorrect answers before I understand the fundamentals.