Rapid advances in artificial intelligence are reshaping the technology industry at bottleneck speed. Many companies have already automated some areas of work, including the process of writing code. This raises the question of whether a degree in computer science (CS) will be useful in the future. But according to Jeffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI, a computer science degree is useless. But at risk are intermediate-level programming jobs that could soon be replaced by increasingly capable AI systems, he says.
In a recent interaction with Business Insider, Hinton pushed back against the idea that the rise of AI will make CS degrees obsolete. “A lot of people think a CS degree is just programming or something,” he said. “It's clear that just being a competent intermediate-level programmer won't last long as a career, because that's what AI can do.” But the Godfather of AI argues that the deeper value of CS education lies in the foundations of systems thinking, mathematics, structured problem solving, and more. He expects these skills to remain important for years to come. “A CS degree will be valuable for quite some time,” he added.
Hinton's comments about the relevance of a CS degree come just as technology industry leaders are debating how much coding humans actually need to do, at a time when AI models are already getting smarter and can generate and debug software on command.
Previously, OpenAI chairman and longtime Silicon Valley executive Brett Taylor shared a similar belief that computer science is much more than just writing code. “There's a lot more to coding than just writing code,” he said. “Computer science is a great major for learning systems thinking,” says Taylor. Studying CS gives students a framework for understanding how complex systems work, which cannot be replaced by AI tools.
Meanwhile, Hinton also mentioned the rise of “vibe coding,” where people describe what they want in plain language and let AI implement it. He compared learning to code today to learning Latin in the humanities. “It doesn't make you speak Latin, but it's still helpful,” he said, arguing that coding helps students think logically, even if future tools automate much of the actual work.
As for younger generations preparing for the future, Hinton's advice is to treat coding as an essential intellectual training rather than a guaranteed career path, especially as AI takes over everyday programming. Even if AI ends up handling much of the coding, Hinton believes the field will help students develop their logic, structure, and problem-solving skills to remain relevant in the future. And for those who want to become AI researchers or engineers in the future, he recommends prioritizing broad critical thinking skills and doubling down on foundational knowledge such as mathematics, statistics, probability theory, and linear algebra, which he argues “will never go away.”
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