Learning Programming in an Age of LLMs

A programmer without formal CS training used LLMs to rapidly build a complex TypeScript/JavaScript system, but discovered upon attempting to productionize it that he had built something beyond his own understanding—raising questions about whether AI-assisted development creates genuine competence or merely the appearance of it. The reader seeks guidance on the appropriate relationship with LLMs for professional programming work, while the respondent, Mark Seemann, acknowledges uncertainty about AI's role in programming while expressing both appreciation and concern about its broader societal implications.