For years, the mantra for a secure career was simple: learn to code. It was the universal advice given to those in declining industries, from journalists to factory workers, promising a lucrative and future-proof profession. Yet, the landscape has shifted dramatically. Today, computer science graduates face an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, higher than the average for all recent graduates, according to a New York Federal Reserve analysis. With over 150,000 tech layoffs in 2024 and nearly 89,000 more by mid-2025, the safe bet on coding has vanished. So, what should we actually teach our children in the age of artificial intelligence?
The End of Coding as We Knew It
The great irony of automation is that it has now come for the software engineers who built the systems. Nicolas Genest, an AI entrepreneur and CEO of tech education startup Codeboxx, states bluntly that AI now codes better than any human software engineer. "It's faster, it secures more coverage, it writes all the tests," he says. Genest, who has coded since 1985, now practices "vibe coding," using prompts in language models like ChatGPT to generate and tweak code, moving from a writer to an editor role.
The data supports this seismic shift. A report by VC-backed firm SignalFire found that recruitment of new graduates by top tech firms has fallen by more than 50 percent since 2019, particularly for entry-level roles. The unemployment rate for recent computer science and computer engineering graduates now surpasses that for journalism majors, signalling a profound change in the job market's demands.
Beyond Syntax: The New Essential Skills
Experts argue the focus must shift from pure technical skill to cultivating distinctly human capabilities. Kate Arthur, a founder and author focused on AI literacy, observes this firsthand. Her daughter recently transferred from a computer science degree to Women's Studies, seeking more debate, creativity, and engagement with world problems. Arthur believes this is a savvy move. "The companies of the future may well only employ a small fraction of the number of coders they once did," she says. What will be crucial is the ability to "inject the humanity back into the code."
Arthur emphasises that the digital world was built by a small, homogenous group, baking their biases into its foundation. The new architects of this space need critical thinking to debate its values, borders, and ethics. She argues coding will become a fundamental literacy, like reading or writing, but the skilled workers of tomorrow will be trained in creativity, critical thinking, and community-building—skills not easily replicated by AI.
Bridging the Arts and Sciences
Mitch Resnick, a professor at the MIT Media Lab who created the block-based coding platform Scratch, never aimed to produce software developers. His goal was to help young people become "creative, curious, caring and collaborative learners." He cautions against abandoning the fundamentals of coding, comparing it to building with Lego versus 3D printing a dollhouse. While the printer is efficient, the joy and understanding come from hands-on creation. Dismissing coding languages entirely risks losing that creative joy and could create a divide where only systems-minded people understand the underlying technology.
David Malan, the renowned professor behind Harvard's CS50 course, adopts a glass-half-full perspective. He has integrated an AI teaching assistant, the "Rubber Duck," into his course, which uses the Socratic method to guide students without giving direct answers. While AI can perform at the level of a junior engineer, Malan believes there will always be a role for "smart humans to teach other smart humans." His advice to parents and students remains steadfast: pursue your passions. A combination of STEM and humanities yields the most interesting and resilient thinkers.
The Human Edge in a Machine World
The consensus among these leading voices is clear. In a world where AI handles knowledge, speed, and accuracy, the human advantage lies in consciousness, empathy, and imagination. Nicolas Genest summarises it: "What we inject as humans is the consciousness." The education system must respond by bringing arts and sciences back together, fostering a love of learning for its own sake, and prioritising critical thinking from an early age so children can navigate an AI-saturated environment.
The challenge extends beyond students to educators and parents. If AI can write essays, then assessment methods must change. Adults must become AI-literate to guide the next generation. The ultimate goal is no longer to train for a specific job that may not exist in a decade, but to build the agility to continuously learn, relearn, and pivot. The mantra for the future is not about learning a specific language, but learning how to think, create, and connect. In other words: 'Learn to code' is dead. Long live 'learn to be human.'
