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Today, the release of OpenAI Codex, a new Al system that translates natural language into code, marks the beginning of a change in the way software is written.
In recent years, there has been more and more talk of “no-code” platforms, but this is not a new phenomenon. The reality is that since the earliest programmable devices, computer scientists have steadily developed breakthroughs in the way we “code” computer software.
The first computers were programmed with switches or punch cards, until the keyboard was invented. Coding became about entering numbers or machine language, until Grace Hopper invented the modern compiler and the COBOL language, ushering in decades of innovation in programming languages and platforms. Languages like Fortran, Pascal, C, Java and Python have evolved in a progression, where the newer language (built using an older language) allowed programmers to “code” using more and more. more human language.
Along with languages, we’ve seen the evolution of “code-less” platforms – including Microsoft Excel, the grandfather of the 1980s code-less – that allow people to program computers in a visual interface, as it is. either at school or in the workplace. Whenever you write a formula on a spreadsheet or drag a block of code onto Code.org or Scratch, you are programming or “code” a computer. “No code” is coded. Every decade, a breakthrough innovation makes it easier to write code so that the old way of coding is replaced by the new.
Does that mean the coding is dead? No! It does not replace the need for a programmer to understand the code. This means that coding has become much easier, more impactful and therefore more important.
That brings us to today’s announcement. Today, OpenAl announced OpenAI Codex, a whole new way to “write code” in natural English. A computer programmer can now use English to describe what he wants his software to do, and OpenAl’s generative A1 model will automatically generate the corresponding computer code, in the programming language of your choice. That’s what we’ve always wanted: for computers to understand what we want them to do, and then do it, without having to go through a complex intermediary like a programming language.
But it’s not an end, it’s a start. With the code generated by Al, one can imagine an evolution in each programming tool, in each programming class, and a Cambrian explosion of new software. Does that mean the coding is dead? No! It does not replace the need for a programmer to understand the code. This means that coding has become much easier, more impactful, and therefore more important, just like when punch cards were replaced with keyboards, or when Grace Hopper invented the compiler.
In fact, the demand for software today is greater than ever and will only continue to grow. As this technology evolves, Al will play a greater role in code generation, which will increase the productivity and impact of IT professionals, and make this field accessible to more and more computer programmers. .
There are already tools that let you program just by dragging and dropping, or write code using your voice. Improvements in these technologies and new tools, such as OpenAI Codex, will increasingly democratize the ability to create software. As a result, the amount of code – and the number of coders – in the world will increase.
It also means that learning to program – in a new way – is more important than ever. Learning to code can open doors to opportunities and also help solve global problems. As it becomes easier and more accessible to create software, we need to give every student in every school the foundational knowledge to not only be a user of technology, but also a creator.
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