ai-discussion.md

• How has using tools like GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT impacted your coding process? Have they changed the way you approach problem-solving?
• Have you ever faced a challenge in your projects where AI tools made a significant difference? What was the challenge, and how did AI help?
• What are your thoughts on the balance between AI assistance and personal coding skills? Do you feel more productive, or are there skills you’re concerned about losing?
• How do you see AI influencing your career as a full stack developer? Are there specific skills you think you’ll need to focus on more as AI evolves?
• Can you share an experience where an AI tool saved you time or helped you overcome a difficult coding issue? How did it change your development process?

1. Github Copilot is because it helps you spend less time on coding as it autocompletes your code. I don't have the pro version although I would have like to have one. ChatGPT helps me complete my tasks more efficient because I spend less time on reviewing the bugs. ChatGPT can easily see where my errors are and assist me with the changes.

2. AI has helped me mostly in debugging and findings errors in my code. It was also a lot of help when it came to installing other dependencies in my code.

3. AI is great help as it ensures good code quality and helps you want efficiently because you don't have to spend do much time on bugs. It can also lay out a plan on how you approach your code.

4. As time goes there will be more and better libraries & software. I believe that in this field you have to constantly evolve and adapt to the changes that will come in order to produce better, efficient applications.

5. It helped out when I am using JavaScript. Sometimes you code is too long and time takes time to find the bugs so I use the AI to assist me.

@mpilomthiyane97
@thewesss
@Nhlanhla-advocate

1.ChatGPT has impacted my coding process by bringing me solutions in the code that needed to be cleaned and explained. It played a significant role in showing me different ways of solving a problem, like suggesting an alternative to every problem I would face.

2.Sometimes it can take hours to debug my code so AI has helped me shorten that time and it often suggest ways to fix the bug too at the same time.

3.I think a balance is very important, you should try not to be too dependent on AI , also I am really concerned about problem sloving skills. The most important skill is problem solving and if AI is doing it for you then what is the point.

4.With AI comes automation, this will allow routine tasks to be automated so that I can focus on solving the complex problems and be more productive. Skills that I will need to focus on is AI literacy and learning how to prompt AI to find solutions, I will also need to keep having a continuous learning mindset as the industry changes overtime.

5.ChatGPT has saved me time by offering me ways of finishing code that had problems. It fixed my errors and provided me further solutions on how to go about finishing my code. It then explained the changes and the impact they will have on my code.

1. Using AI tools has helped me follow a logical way of approaching coding challenges. It helped me learn how to break down tasks and have an algorithm for how I approach problems. It provides an alternative for when I get stuck and I am not sure which direction to take.
2. I have faced a challenge where I was struggling to come up with ideas for a project and how I wanted to present it and AI helped me to brainstorm the vision I had and make it come to life
3. I feel that AI does make coding easier, especially when it comes to explaining logic, but it is also not accurate in its execution to what I specifically need at times so that means I still have to apply my own skills and learn continuously instead on relying on AI assistance. I do not worry about losing skills, but rather embrace the assistance I get as it improves my logic in approaching coding related tasks
4. I think AI will make my career as a developer easier because I do not have to code everything from scratch, a lot of resources are readily available. In order to stay relevant I think I would have to learn more about cyber security and also data analytics because thy seem to be important in the tech space.
5. I used Meta to help me debug code that I was struggling with for hours. It was only a line of code that was causing the error. This experience is common in my journey and I find that using AI makes me aware of problems to look out for and also gives me tips on how to debug, which are often helpful

@Geraldmutsw
@sharon

• Copilot has significantly enhanced my coding process. It has improved code structure, readability, and my problem-solving approach by enabling me to resolve errors directly within the IDE. This eliminates the time-consuming task of copying error messages into a browser. Additionally, Copilot's code suggestions have been invaluable, providing inspiration for creating complex functions and offering alternative solutions to challenges.

• AI has been an invaluable resource for overcoming numerous challenges I've encountered. I often rely on AI tools for research before tackling complex tasks. Docker, particularly in backend development, presented significant hurdles, but AI tools proved to be a game-changer. Compared to traditional platforms like Stack Overflow, AI offered direct and efficient solutions without the need to sift through countless pages.

• While I initially learned to code without AI, its emergence has significantly transformed my development process. AI has proven to be an invaluable problem-solving tool, though it hasn't diminished my drive to master fundamental concepts. Understanding the underlying principles of a programming language is essential to effectively utilize AI-generated code. Blindly copying without comprehension can lead to issues. Nevertheless, AI has undoubtedly boosted my productivity and expanded my knowledge

• I see AI as an enhancement tool for my career as a developer. I don't believe it will take away my job ,but I believe that it will assist in making some of my tasks easy to accomplish and in a short period of time. It will also allow me to be innovative in my inventions and improve my problem solving skills to any life or career problems.

The skills I will need to focus on as AI evolves are cloud computing, Prompt engineering, data collection and data analysis and also web/server/database security or cyber security.

• A time where an AI tool helped me and saved me time was when I was busy with the madlips assignment. It helped me with creating a story for my game and also do some of the css and showed me how to do the google translate functionality for my game as well. It made the development process very easy and less stressful by giving me suggestions that I could pick from and edit the code to my liking or desired taste.

Samuel Masuvhe
Sinethemba Zulu

1. ChatGPT has made coding easier by helping with code generation, debugging, and offering different solutions. They've changed the way we approach problem-solving by breaking down code into smaller snippets with comments for clear understanding.
2. When we were working on a backend project, we encountered a problem with the middleware, Using ChatGPT we were able to get suggestions on how to solve it by pasting the code on it and it gave us different possible solutions, and the issue.
3. AI helps to enhance my personal coding skills by adding comments to the codes, also suggesting different learning materials I can use and courses, I do feel more productive especially when I am doing a bigger project.
4. As AI advances, it will play a bigger role in my career as a full-stack developer, for designing and solving problems AI will remain essential.
5. When we were working on a movie project with a tight deadline and we encountered an issue with our API and routes, After spending hours trying to debug, we used ChatGPT, which suggested issues with our approach, it helped us resolve the bug quickly. We saved a lot of time and were able to meet the deadline.

@Tumelo2748

1. These tools has been impacted positively; it eliminated a lot of thinking situations. It makes things easier as it makes me solve a lot of tasks in a short period of time.
   2.In a situation where you are learning a new programming language and you don't fully understand the concepts, So the AI assists on the explaining things step by step so that you have a full understanding of what to do.
2. Using AI does help a lot but use it for boilerplate and use it to get started with your day. It’s a LLM so use it for questions that you would usually Google and take as opinions

As the developer you should be doing the problem-solving part and let AI do the basic things of your tasks like creating schedules, data to work with.

You can very productive because if you use it wisely you will be able to complete most of tasks in short period of time
4.Mastering prompt engineering will be crucial for effectively utilizing AI tools. A foundational grasp of machine learning will enhance collaboration with data scientists. Ultimately, combining human ingenuity with AI's capabilities will be key to success. Ai is influencing my career positively in a way that it guides me on the tool to use and skills to focus on that are in demand on the market and how to use and also can provide with tasks to practice and help you grow your skills.
5. I was stuck on a weird bug in my React app. It was making the site look crazy! I tried everything I knew, but nothing worked. Then I found this AI coding helper. I described the problem, and it suggested changing a tiny bit of code. I tried it, and boom! The bug was fixed. It was like magic!

Angela
Nokulunga
Ntandoyenkosi

1. Using tools like GitHub, Copilot, and ChatGPT has really boosted my coding process. Instead of spending hours searching through different resources, I get the information I need from one place and even double-check it with other AIs. This has sped up my learning and helped me grasp concepts faster.

2. Yes, we had a problem with dependencies and the script. ChatGPT helped with installation of certain packages and updating the dependencies so that the code could execute.

3. Using AI in coding can help us get more done by taking care of repetitive tasks and giving quick answers. But, it’s important to keep practicing our own coding skills to understand the basics and solve problems by ourselves. Relying too much on AI might make our skills weaker. So, we should use AI to help us, not replace our coding abilities.

4. As a developer I think AI requires developers to upskill and be more equipped in order to be able to navigate these AI Tools. As AI evolves we definitely have to keep ourselves updated with the new technology/AI Tools.

5. During a recent coding project, the code wasn't running. I looked through all of it but I couldn't find the issue. I checked MetaAI, and it diagnosed the problem in seconds -it was a misplaced semicolon. This experience shows the value of AI-assisted debugging in software development. By using MetaAI, I improved my workflow, avoided frustration, and I actually gained confidence in my coding abilities. Incorporating it into my development process has been very beneficial.

Group 5 ( Simphiwe & Emihle )

1. It has made the coding process to be much more efficient, by reducing the time it would take to write full code because it provides template code for the work you're trying to accomplish. Yes. AI has made problem solving easier because it has assisted us in helping better understand complex problems by explaining them in simpler terms and providing for examples.

2. Yes with syntax .AI has been the best in helping keep the code in proper syntax. AI being able to read the bad code you give it, and it provide a syntaxially correct code has helped alot in writing code that works.

3. I feel more productive. I am not concerned about losing skills, infact im more excited about the skills I can learn in a short period of time with AI assistance.

4. AI will continue to make me efficient as a developer, it will also affect the amount of times I actully write code, so I may need to revisit coding (without AI) every now and then. The skills I will need to focus on is definetly building AI & Machine learning models and how to incorporate them into fullstack web applications.

5. With CSS designs in the front-end. CSS can become really long and tedious but with AI prompting and knowing exactly what you want , this has been an easy feat and made my development process easier.

Lethukuthula
Bonolo

1.Using ChatGPT helps me with completing work quite sooner than I normally would have. Not that it does the work for me, but the fact that I would have a sense of direction in terms of what I would like to achieve with my work, and whenever I get stuck I would use the AI tool in order to get clarity or a sense of what I need to do to better solve the problem at hand, compared to back when I used to get a long break whenever I’d get stuck

2.The time I faced a challenge and AI tools helped significantly was when I had to use a new language that I’m not familiar with for a project(flutter). The project was due at such a short amount space of time that I knew I won’t have grasped the fundamentals of flutter, but I knew what I wanted to achieve and the tool helped significantly

3. My thoughts about the balance between AI assistance and personal coding skills is that as a programmer, the minute you use an AI assistant, you already know what you are trying to achieve, you have a goal at hand and you sort of guide the AI into giving the most suitable solution into the problem you would have at hand. If anything, the assistance helps one to be more productive and enhance their problem solving skills

4.As a full-stack engineer, I believe AI will continue to increase my productivity, but I'll still need to put more effort into honing my problem-solving techniques and grasp of complex structures. As AI develops, it's critical that I keep up with the newest frameworks and technologies and continue honing my problem-solving and design skills, which AI cannot completely replace.

I was once dealing with a tricky issue in a React project involving complex component states and prop drilling. I used an AI tool to help me understand best practices for state management and refactor my code to use React Context more effectively. This saved me hours of manual troubleshooting and made my components more manageable. Since then, I’ve integrated AI tools into my React workflow to streamline development and handle state-related challenges more efficiently.

@nonhlanhla
@Hophney
@katmafalela

1. The tools has helped me understand the concepts better and solve problems at a breakneck speed and efficiency as opposed to the old way of having to wait for an answer from someone in platforms like Stack Overflow.

2. Every project I work on has obstacles, the majority of which are error messages. Fortunately, since the era of artificial intelligence, debugging errors has gotten easier, and as a result, I've risen to the position of top debugger at the hub

3. I think AI will be a great tool to have as a developer because AI will take care of the tasks that need automation, and can speed up certain tasks, help with code suggestions, and even spot bugs that might slip past human eye and I as a developer will sharpen my coding skills to create more applications that are more advanced using AI at a more faster rate.

4. Honestly, I'm not concerned about losing any skill and I am more lenient on learning to use the tools better, become a better prompt engineer than I already am. The tools are making my life easier, breaking a large project into something manageable and offers support all the way from the beginning to the end of the project.

5. When I was working on the e-commerce project, I had to write code in TypeScript. Since there wasn't enough time to learn TypeScript thoroughly before completing the project, I used Gemini Code Assist to write most of the code. This allowed me to learn the fundamentals of TypeScript on the go, rather than having to master them before starting the project

• To be honest, ever since I have been introduced to these tools, I've been lazy to even try and solve the basic and simple problems, but it does not mean I cant solve them - I just use these tools save time. I feel like I also learn things quicker with these tools as they are instant, and give me answers to specific challenges I'm facing.

• Yes, to be honest, in all the projects we have worked, AI tools have been significant, because I'm not gonna sit here and say I know everything, but these AI tools make it easy for me tackle some of the challenges I have faced. I just need to know what I want, and be able to properly prompt it, because I also have these crazy ideas running through my mind, so I always have to find ways of making it easy for AI to understand my ideas.

• As much as I use ChatGpt to solve some of my problems, I use it to learn about these coding and tech skills, and not just depend on it to solve my challenges, because, AI is not always correct, so if you are not using it to learn or to upskill yourself, you will use even the wrong responses it gives you. I am more productive with it, not to say I wouldn't be able develop some the projects I've been building without AI, but it just saves me more time, and comes up with better ways to find solutions

• I don't think I would have been able to grasp some of the fundamentals of full stack better.... to be continued

Answers.

@phamela, @sakhile, @Koketso

1. AI tools have helped us to more efficient when it comes to problem solving. They have positively impacted our work ethic to be more productive.
2. AI tools are vital in a complex data analysis project, helping with code optimization, debugging, and pattern recognition. Tools like GitHub Copilot sped up development, while AI models improved data accuracy, enabling faster problem-solving and enhanced application performance.
3. The balance is subjective depending on the developer. Some developers use AI assistance to speed up their productivity and they actually know what they are copying when they use a code provided by Chatgpt for example. On the other side another developer might solely depend on AI tools to build a website for example without exactly understanding and studying the code provided by Chatgpt and blindly using it. I feel more productive when I am using AI tools because I use them to ask AI tool to actually explain and breakdown complex code and concepts to me. However, I am concerned about other developers losing their skills especially when they do not understand the basics and fundamentals of coding and just blindly taking code that AI gives.
   4.With its automation tools AI can be used for more routine tasks leaving developers to focus on the in depth technical issues and problem solving abilities which remain indispensable.
4. Yes, GitHub Copilot helped me optimize a complex sorting algorithm I was struggling with, saving time and improving performance. It’s now a go-to tool for tackling tough coding issues, speeding up development, and enhancing code quality.