Amjad Masad, the co-founder and CEO of the AI coding platform Replit, is not all for young people learning computer science if they have no interest in it.
In a new interview on the podcast 20VC, Masad called the idea pretty dumb.
“If you don’t feel like you’re drawn to it like a fly drawn to a light, then don’t go into it because someone told you you’re going to make a boatload of money working for Google,” he said. “It’s pretty dumb to tell people to go into computer science if they’re not really intrinsically interested in it.”
He added that while the early 2000s saw people entering the field out of curiosity about computers and programming, it has become an overly “hyped up” discipline, with CS departments “exploding” as it turned into a fast track to high-paying jobs. He added that AI has now changed that equation.
According to him, the signs of this shift have been there for some time, as he referenced a March 2025 appearance at DPPPN where he said, “I no longer think you should learn how to code.” The reaction was immediate. “It went super viral. People were pissed,” he said on 20VC.
In recent years, Replit has moved beyond its roots as an integrated coding environment to a focus on AI-agent-driven app creation, competing with platforms such as GitHub, Cursor, Lovable, and Emergent. The startup is supported by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, and Y Combinator.
The assumption that AI makes CS degrees obsolete is far from settled. Masad joins a debate that has become a hot-button topic for tech talent, as vibe coders, who code mainly with AI prompts, invade their offices.
“Now, if you’re interested in it, there are still ways to contribute. You could get into ML and AI and go work at the big labs or a company like ours,” he said, pointing to machine learning as a niche focus for those interested in the subject. He also noted that despite rapid AI progress, foundational concepts such as data structures and algorithms will continue to matter, with ongoing demand for people who understand the “underpinnings” of CS.
In a December interview with Business Insider, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton said that while AI is taking over some coding tasks, that does not make a CS degree irrelevant. “Many people think a CS degree is just programming or something,” he said, adding that computer science remains “a wonderful major to learn systems thinking.”
Max Levchin joins other tech leaders who believe computer science talent still holds value. Earlier this month, on a podcast, he argued that, “I don’t think the LLMs are going to naturally always deliver beautifully crafted, elegant, and yet scientifically correct code,” adding that “As a programmer, without having a solid foundation in computer science, I wouldn’t be able to have that.”
David Adubiina
