‘Given AI, should students avoid studying computer science?’

Question

Given the growth and development of artificial intelligence, should students considering their CAO options for 2027 avoid computer science options?

Answer

AI is one of the best reasons in a generation to study information and communications technology (ICT) programmes. Today’s AI models can turn a prompt into a programme, fix bugs and “vibe code” a working app in minutes. So why spend four years on a degree when a machine can do so much?

First, vibe coding does not produce code that is safe, secure, and production-ready.

Second, programming is only one part of computer science – coding is to computer science as arithmetic is to mathematics – and the rest includes AI, cybersecurity, data science, graphics, games and much more.

Third, there will be more software, not less. Job markets at home and abroad consistently point to increasing demand for computer scientists.

[ ‘I told you so’ will be too late when it comes to AIOpens in new window ]

Are careers as programmers at risk?

Every coding innovation over the past 60 years lowered the programming barrier, automating the routine parts and freeing people for harder problems. Each time demand rose rather than fell: much more software and many more software engineering jobs. AI is the next step in that same pattern, not a break from it.

So, if computer science was never just about code, then what is it about?

Fundamentally, it is about problem solving and computational thinking: breaking a hard problem into solvable pieces, judging whether a solution is correct and deciding what is worth building.

An AI will happily answer the wrong question, but it cannot tell you the question is wrong. It can write code, but it cannot always decide what code to write, whether it can be trusted, or what should happen when it fails. Those are some of the skills a computer science degree builds, and they become more important as code gets cheaper.

[ ‘There is certainly pressure on people to stay relevant in this economy’Opens in new window ]

Employability?

Recent data from the US shows that AI is creating far more jobs than it is destroying. The only computing job expected to shrink is the narrow title of “computer programmer”. The work under pressure is routine coding; the work expanding is designing and standing over whole systems. The same is true for the EU. Ireland needs tens of thousands more ICT professionals this decade.

Hiring of some graduate software engineers has slowed since 2022. Some of that is the natural cooling of an overheated market; some is due to big tech overhiring during the pandemic; and, yes, some is companies betting AI will replace junior workers.

When the dot-com bubble burst, computing degrees lost their shine, and pessimism pushed a generation away from a field that was about to transform the world. Then came smartphones and app stores, cloud computing, social media and the companies (Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, TikTok) that now anchor tens of thousands of jobs in Ireland.

Yes, coding is increasingly performed by AI. The new world of agentic software engineering is less about typing code and more about deciding what to build and how to co-ordinate agents to build it. It is about designing systems, specifying goals, evaluating AI-generated solutions, managing complexity and verifying correctness.

These skills are exactly what employers want, and the best degrees are built around them, so you are ready to begin your career in an increasingly AI-first world. And beyond software engineering jobs, AI, data science, cybersecurity, and cloud computing roles will continue to flourish across all industries and sectors, from healthcare and retail to banking, finance and energy.

A computer science degree gives you the skills to combine human and machine intelligence, and to help shape that future rather than just live in it.

askbrian@irishtimes.com