Special Dialogue: Perspectives on the Future IT Engineer in the AI Era from an IT Instructor and the AI-Native Generation

Key points of this article

1.The engineer, redefined for the AI era
With the rise of an AI-native generation that builds apps by conversing with AI, the definition of "engineer" has shifted from someone who writes code to someone who solves problems. What's in demand now isn't programming skill itself but the ability to put one's own thinking and concerns into words and structure them clearly.

2.Structuring ability and human strength
As AI takes over the work of producing correct answers, education is placing more weight on developing the thinking skills needed to structure a problem in the first place. For questions with no single right answer, humanity's real value lies in the ability to sit with people's emotions, choose the best path forward with conviction, and bring others along with you.

3.Closing the opportunity gap
At the core of entrepreneurs and educators alike is a strong will to eliminate the unfairness of opportunity shaped by one's circumstances and the injustices of society. AI is a powerful tool for shortening the time spent on trial and error, and it's the combination of passionate human drive with AI that will open up the future ten years from now.

──Thank you for joining us today. First, Lily and Teru, did you study programming?

President Lily (hereafter, Lily): I haven't.

Vice President Teru (hereafter, Teru): I only did a bit with Scratch, and that's about it.

Hiroto Nishi (hereafter, Nishi): Really!? In my time, there was no generative AI, so I entered this world from the basics.

──By the way, are there any students at Internet Academy who have never touched programming?

Nishi: Very few. Nowadays, many want to thoroughly learn the basics of programming. However, market analysis shows a high demand for no-code programming, so we are gradually releasing such courses.

──Have you ever faced difficulties in no-code development due to a lack of foundational knowledge?

Lily: Not particularly. I used to think I needed to learn programming from the basics and decided I couldn't do it. But after receiving advice from people around me and my family, saying, 'Now AI can develop apps automatically, so why not try using AI first,' I started developing with AI.

Teru: I interact with AI as if it were a friend. I heard that giving commands in a strict tone makes AI execute them more accurately, so I don't use polite language. Even when I face issues, I casually ask AI for help.

“When I Talked to AI, I Could Create Without Any Trouble” — How the AI-Native Generation Learns