-
The CEO of Replit advises against studying computer science just for the money.
-
Massad said there is still room for growth for those with a passion for computer science.
-
Despite the impact of artificial intelligence on coding, some technology leaders agree that computer science education has lasting value.
Replit’s CEO says don’t pursue computer science just for the money.
In an episode of the “20VC” podcast released on Saturday, Amjad Masad said that young people who aren’t very interested in CS shouldn’t study it.
“If you don’t feel like you’re attracted to it like a fly to a light, don’t go into it because you’re told you’re going to make a lot of money working for Google,” he said. “It’s pretty silly to tell people to go into computer science if they’re not really interested in it.”
Masad co-founded Replit, an integrated coding environment, in 2016. The company has since transformed into an AI agent-led app builder and now competes with Microsoft’s GitHub, Cursor, and Vibe coding tools like Lovable and Emergent. It is backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue and Y Combinator.
Masad added in the podcast that in the early 2000s, people entered the field because they were passionate about learning about computers and programming. But after that, it became a subject of “hype” and university computer science departments “exploded” because it became the easiest industry to make money, he said. With artificial intelligence, this is no longer the case.
“Now, if you’re interested in this, there are still ways to contribute. You can get into machine learning and artificial intelligence and work in a big lab or a company like ours,” he said, referring to machine learning.
He said that even if artificial intelligence models continue to advance, basic knowledge such as data structures and algorithms will not change, and technology will always need people who understand the “basics” of computer science.
A “wonderful major”
Massad joins a group of technology leaders who say computer science education remains valuable.
In a podcast earlier this month, venture capitalist and Affirm CEO Max Levchin said writing good code is an art and artificial intelligence can’t take that away.
“I don’t think an LL.M. will automatically always deliver beautifully crafted, elegant and scientifically correct code,” Levchin said.
He added, “As a programmer, I couldn’t have that without a solid foundation in computer science.”
AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton told Business Insider in a December interview that AI is replacing some coding tasks, but that doesn’t mean a computer science degree isn’t valuable.
“A lot of people think a computer science degree is just about programming or something like that,” Hinton said.
“Coding is more than just writing code,” he adds. “Computer science is a great major to learn systems thinking.”
Read the original article on Business Insider