I have insisted on writing code myself for a long time. Whenever I encountered something unfamiliar, I searched for it, understood it on my own, and built my code line by line. This was my coding philosophy. Even though I had heard a lot about how convenient and powerful AI coding tools like Copilot, Codeium, and Cursor are, I thought it was wrong to use code that wasn't written by humans, code I couldn't understand. I had a vague worry that it wouldn't help improve my skills, either. In fact, I had a bit of a dismissive attitude towards those who did 'vibe coding,' thinking to myself, 'That's not right.'

The AI Code Assistant I Met by Chance and the Shock!

A few days ago, I discovered that an AI code assistant function had been installed without my knowledge when VS Code was updated. Out of curiosity, I pressed the button carelessly and used it for a moment.

And… I was truly shocked! It was like a whole new world opened up.

It was hard to believe how perfectly it understood my code and how quickly it anticipated the tasks I wanted to perform. Before I even typed a few characters, it was showing me the next predicted code. It was genuinely astonishing. I felt as if it was reading my thoughts.

What was even more eerie was that it immediately called upon complex classes or methods I had created in previous utility files and completed the code on point. Even without my explicit instructions, I couldn't help but admire how accurately it grasped what I intended and brought forth the necessary functions.

So Others Were Coding Like This Already?

This experience made me realize how 'old-fashioned' my coding approach had been. Were others already using such powerful tools to write code at an incredible speed? Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation of being left behind.

One thing is certain: after using this Copilot, it seems impossible to stop or go back. I felt the overwhelming improvement in coding speed and developer productivity.

Would von Neumann Call Me Lazy?

I suddenly recalled the father of computer science, John von Neumann. He wrote code and executed programs solely in machine language, using only 0s and 1s when developing computers. In today’s terms, that's utterly insane! However, when his students participated in assembly language development and use, von Neumann reportedly became furious, saying, 'That’s not coding' and calling them 'lazy programmers wasting computer resources.'

Von Neumann's Shock at AI Coding Reality

Thinking about it, what would von Neumann say if he saw me using high-level languages like Python or C++ today? Perhaps he would think 'Oh, that's not right. What a lazy individual. Someone who hasn't mastered the basics!' After imagining that, I felt embarrassed about my earlier dismissive attitude towards those engaging in 'vibe coding.' Times change, and coding skills and tools inevitably change with them.

Imagining what expression von Neumann would have if he saw today’s developers and AI code assistants (like Copilot) makes me smile. He might be utterly shocked. I believe the history of coding has always evolved from humanity’s desire for 'laziness' and 'efficiency.'

AI: Not Just a Tool, But a Partner

Previously, I had a vague sense of unease about using code written by AI, but now my perspective has completely changed. I realized that AI is not just an entity that writes code for me; it is a powerful partner that understands my code and suggests the direction I want to go. Of course, I should avoid uncritically accepting code generated by AI, but I even find a sense of optimism that my coding skills could improve more rapidly as a result.

Although I haven’t yet used all the features of this tool, I look forward to the coding journey I will have with this AI code assistant. If you, too, have been hesitant about AI-based coding tools like I was, I strongly recommend giving it a try. You will surely experience a whole new world of coding!