Introduction

I started writing this book almost a year after OpenAI launched ChatGPT. That launch and the subsequent releases of generative AI tools by Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and others have begun to change how we think about creating content. At the same time, we're facing important questions about what the future of work will look like — especially for those of us whose job primarily involves the things that tools such as ChatGPT are pretty good at.

My own feelings about generative AI are mixed. On one hand, I worry that the skills in writing and programming that I've spent more than half my life working on will no longer be useful. On the other hand, I see that AI has the potential to take on some of the most boring and least rewarding work I do, saving me time and effort that I can devote to the more creative parts of writing and programming.

I also worry that when I do write things using old-fashioned methods (aka “I think of them and write them”), people will assume that I used AI. This happened with a book I wrote last year on a relatively current topic. People who didn't bother to read the book commented that “it was probably written by AI.” As a result of this experience, I announced that I'd livestream the process of writing my next book. I had no idea at the time that my next book would be about AI. So, here I am, writing a book about coding with AI while live-streaming my writing processes in an attempt to prove to future readers that the book wasn't generated by AI. If you have any doubt that I wrote this book the old-fashioned way, or if you have a few hundred hours to spare, you can see the entire book being written by going to https://bit.ly/codingwithai.

Even though I refuse to use AI to write my books, and I'm generally against other people using AI to write books, I feel differently about using AI tools to generate computer code. The history of computer programming has been about people inventing better tools that make coding easier. When I worked at Software Development Magazine in the 1990s, the technical editor was Roger Smith. One day, while we were talking about a new programming tool, Roger told me that he believed that in the future we'd be able to use natural language to write software. I was skeptical. Almost 30 years later, it turns out that Roger was right.

The pace of change in AI is fast. Technologies and tools that are new and interesting this month will be replaced by better ones next month. Because I write about technology and programming, there's always the risk that something I write today will be outdated when the book is released. However, even though AI and AI software development tools will certainly have improved, the techniques I write about here will be just as applicable — unless, of course, AI has made the profession of software developer obsolete and everyone who used to be a software developer now gets paid to hang out on the beach (or whatever your idea of relaxation and fun is).

Whether you embrace this new era of AI-assisted coding or resist it, there's no denying that it's here. In this book, I show you how these tools work and how you can use them to not only make writing code easier and faster but to help you write better code.

I hope you enjoy reading this book and that you find it useful. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at chris@minnick.com.

About This Book

When it comes to coding with generative AI, we're all dummies at this point. Whether you're a new programmer or a veteran, this book will teach you what you need to know to benefit from the new tools that are rapidly becoming available.

I cover these topics:

• Understanding foundational principles of machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and generative AI (GenAI)
• Working with AI responsibly, safely, and ethically
• Using some of the latest tools for coding with AI
• Using AI to help with
  • Automating monotonous coding tasks
  • Learning new skills
  • Improving your code
  • Testing your code
  • Documenting your code
  • Maintaining your code

As you go through the book, keep the following in mind:

• You can read the book from beginning to end, but feel free to skip around if you like. If a topic interests you, start there. You can always return to previous chapters, if necessary.
• At some point, you will get stuck, and something you try will not work as intended. Do not fear! There are many resources to help you, including support forums, others on the internet, AI chatbots, and me! You can contact me via email at chris@minnick.com or through my website (https://www.chrisminnick.com). Additionally, you can sign up for my Substack (https://chrisminnick.substack.com) to receive occasional updates from me about AI, programming, and learning.
• Code in the book appears in a monospaced font like this: <h1>Hi there!</h1>.

Some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you have it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

Foolish Assumptions

I do not make many assumptions about you, the reader, but I do make a few.

I assume you have some experience or familiarity with programming in a computer language. It doesn't matter which language you code in, just that you know what programming is and you've done it before. If you're new to computer programming, many excellent books and tutorials are available that can give you the background you need for this book in a few days. I recommend Coding All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition (written by me and an awesome team of other coding experts), which contains an introduction to all the languages and techniques you use in this book. In particular, read the chapters about Python and JavaScript.

Most of the examples in this book are JavaScript code, because that's the programming language I know the best. However, this is not a JavaScript-specific book and the techniques and tools I use to help write or improve my JavaScript code work with any language. The code examples are generally simple enough to be understood without a specific knowledge of JavaScript.

I assume you have a computer running a modern web browser. You will do most of the exercises in this book by using web-based resources. Although it may be possible to complete these exercises using a smartphone or tablet, I don't recommend it.

I assume you have access to an internet connection. Because the language models we'll be working with are far too large to install on your computer, an internet connection will be essential to completing the hands-on element.

I assume you can download and install free software to your computer. Oftentimes, the computer you use at work will have restrictions on what can be installed by the user. Using your own computer to develop and run the applications in this book should work without a problem.

Icons Used in This Book

Here are the icons used in the book to flag text that should be given extra attention or can be skipped.

This icon flags useful information or explains a shortcut to help you understand a concept.

This icon explains technical details about the concept being explained. The details might be informative or interesting but are not essential to your understanding of the concept.

Try not to forget the material marked with this icon. It signals an important concept or process that you should keep in mind.

Watch out! This icon flags common mistakes and problems that can be avoided if you heed the warning.

Beyond the Book

A lot of extra content that you won’t find in this book is available at www.dummies.com. Go online to find the following:

• The source code for the examples in this book: Go to www.dummies.com/go/codingwithaifd. The source code is organized by chapter. The best way to work with a chapter is to download all the source code for it at one time.
• The cheat sheet: Go to www.dummies.com and, in the search field, typing Coding with AI for Dummies. You'll find helpful prompting tips for coding with AI, a list of dangers when using AI-generated code, and a tongue-in-cheek look at what AI coding assistants can't do.
• Updates: AI is changing rapidly, and I don't expect it to stop doing so after this book is published, so the commands and syntax that work today may not work tomorrow. You can find any updates or corrections by visiting www.dummies.com/go/codingwithaifd or https://github.com/chrisminnick/coding-with-ai.

Where to Go from Here

As you embark on your journey of learning to code with AI, keep an open mind but also a large dose of skepticism and patience. In spite of how impressive the current generation of GenAI tools is (and they're surely much better by the...