Is it still worth learning to code?

The question everyone seems to be asking lately is whether it’s still worth learning to code. You can just describe what you want in plain old English, and a machine builds it for you. So what’s the point of learning how to do it yourself? The answer depends on why you’re asking. I learned the guitar for fun; I didn’t need any more reason than that. And the same is true for coding; if you want to learn, then do. But most people asking this question are really asking something else. They mean: is it worth it for my career? That’s a much more interesting question. And, for now, my answer is yes. For a very simple reason: a strong programmer with AI isn’t just slightly better than a beginner. They’re shockingly better. Maybe 10-20x better. And that’s it. That’s the single best reason to learn to code today. You don’t learn it so you can write the code instead of the machine. You learn it so you can be exponentially better with the machine. But if you think about it, this isn’t unique to…