Why Integrate GenAI into CS Education
Why instructors might want to empower students with GenAI skills.
Workforce Training
GenAI has changed the profession of software engineering. From Microsoft reporting that 30% of its code is AI generated to a notable fraction of startups claiming that over 95% of their code comes from AI, we’ve seen that manually generating code is becoming less critical. As a result, future software engineers need to focus on the skills necessary to code with the aid of an AI assistant.
Programming for all
Learning to program can be difficult and a large factor in that difficulty is learning the unyielding syntactic rules of a text-based programming language. With GenAI’s ability to generate syntactically correct code from regular human language, we have the potential to lower the barrier to entry into the field. With nearly every field in society being impacted by computers, what might be possible if everyone knew how to generate software that is meaningful or useful to them?
Maintaining Relevance for Students
Students want to learn more about GenAI, with nearly half of students feeling they do not have the knowledge or skills necessary to succeed in an AI-enabled workforce. At the same time, students are already using GenAI in their studies, with a desire to learn effectively with the tools rather than become over reliant. Notably, 80% of students report that the integration of GenAI into their university education is not meeting their expectations.
Related resources
Microsoft reporting that 30% of its code is AI generated
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday said that as much as 30% of the company’s code is now written by artificial intelligence.
A quarter of startups in YC’s current cohort have codebases that are almost entirely AI-generated
With the release of new AI models that are better at coding, developers at startups are increasingly using AI to generate code.
Learning to program can be difficult
In this classic paper, Cognitive strategies and looping constructs: an empirical study, we find that introductory programming students struggle with basic programming tasks at the end of the course.