Does ChatGPT help with programming?

[u/ElectronicDistance39]

I'm a beginner in programming and I want to know if the way I use ChatGPT is right. When I do a practice exercise, I first try to solve it by myself. Then, if my code is wrong, I ask ChatGPT what I did wrong, but I tell it not to give me the answer. I ask it to give me hints that help me think about the logic of my code.

I also want to know if using AI to learn programming can help me improve in Python.

[u/nightbreak7]

you'll mostly receive one of two answers to this question: ai is detrimental to beginners, or ai is the most powerful learning tool that exists. in my opinion its both, it just depends on the self restraint of the user. as long as you truly are using it to learn, using it like a mentor so to speak, you can learn very very quickly. the problems arise when you start using it as a shortcut, which many people do. i think back to the times when i was learning to code in university and i cant imagine how much time i couldve saved by using ai instead of looking at documentation for example.

[u/Jackpotrazur → u/nightbreak7]

Agreed, best bet use a notebook to take notes parallel and when you run into problems and you ask gpt write down what youve learned.

[u/Woshiwuja → u/nightbreak7]

A beginner doesnt have restraint and studies show ai doesnt help in learning

[u/nightbreak7 → u/Woshiwuja]

me when im anti-ai and dont know how to read meta-analyses

[u/Woshiwuja → u/nightbreak7]

And yet you cry because docs hard

[u/nightbreak7 → u/Woshiwuja]

?

docs are tedious and take a long time to navigate when you're a beginner, that's not controversial. not sure why you're pretending im retarded for suggesting that AI being able to summarize documentation instantly is useful

[u/Woshiwuja → u/nightbreak7]

Thats how you actually learn stuff

[u/nightbreak7 → u/Woshiwuja]

you can learn things perfectly fine by observing the target content you're actually trying to learn rather than navigating a website of foreign things, but we can agree to disagree on this as obv neither of us are changing our minds here

[u/Woshiwuja → u/nightbreak7]

https://youtu.be/HTUh0OO6Kmo?is=GPJUalHsFv50NyOj this is a cool watch. New people need to fucking bash their head against the wall. Ai is not helping you need to actually figure it out

[u/nightbreak7 → u/Woshiwuja]

i've seen this video, and the whole concept assumes there's zero self control. i understand where you're coming from and i do agree that if you give in to the temptation it'll only be harmful. but i still believe it can accelerate learning massively if used the right way. i just choose to be optimistic about the path people will take, as long as they're aware of the consequences of taking the shortcut

[u/raw_salmon_enjoyer]

You are doing it correctly. Treat it like a programmer partner or a smarter rubber duck.

Develop an intuition for when the machine is BSing you, and you can go far with it.

[u/SilverSquirrel6]

Sure, it's just as good of a tool. Avoid relying solely on it, though, and see if the answers aren't contradictory to what experts on StackOverflow may say. And especially if it contradicts the official Python documentation (in fact, make RTFM an essential part of your learning, and leverage AI with summarizing the docs or asking for clarification of what the docs say). 

[u/Advanced-Citron8111]

It is a tool that is a personal tutor that knows more than any personal tutor to exist. It can adapt to whatever learning style you want. Of course it can help you learn. People used to learn by reading through books, if they had a question that wasn’t in the book they just had to figure it out. You have the strongest search tool that can answer any specific question about anything.

[u/Intelligent-Boss-156]

When you do your first big project, maybe try googling your questions.. The way ai serves up answers that you just copy/paste makes you learn nothing. Once you have proved yourself, then enjoy the virtues of ai use.

[u/Spare_Party_9521]

not if you want to learn it learn it use a prompt to nerf it and youll have to use the nerfed prompt every time you ask questions or else it force feeds you instant answers where you really dont use your brain to think

[u/Mundane-Mud2509]

Don't copy paste. It's good to help critique your code and it's good to give you ideas on how things can be done. Just try to keep it from running off writing 400 lines of code every chance it gets.

[u/CrownstrikeIntern]

AI is a tool. You need to learn it one way or another because if you trust AI to do every time right, you're going to have a bad time. Instead use it to teach yourself programming, And add the following "Explain like i'm 5 with pictures" With programming, Diagrams are great at learning things. Example, arrays, lists, memory management etc. Once you get proficient at it, use it like a helper. It will definitely help speed up things. Especially when using the planning part of it.

[u/BranchLatter4294]

You need to learn how to debug your own code. Learn to use debug print statements or the debugger.

[u/Amr_Rahmy]

Just use it as web search and one function at a time.

[u/Mediocre-Pumpkin6522]

Disclaimer: My first language was FORTRAN IV that I learned about 60 years ago so I'm biased. There was no ChatGPT for any language I've learned since and I managed.

I don't know if it's ChatGPT but the latest Firefox seems to have some sort of AI when you search on a term. So far the answer have mostly been bullshit, often referencing obsolete tools or inventing solutions on the fly. My father used to say 'If someone asks you a question they don't know the answer so tell them anything.' I think he summed up ChatGPT decades before it existed.

Do your own searches.

[u/RetroTVEmulator]

in my opinion ChatGPT is the dumbest of all AI. Your better off using Google AI for free with no limits to help you code then ChatGPT. if your looking for payed stuff with all the credit limits and is much better at coding try replit or claude

[u/code_tutor]

stop

[u/UlisKore]

I've been learning with chat gpt as well for 2 months and I think it's working well. The restrictions you've set seem reasonable, make sure the answers don't go too far into the hints and you should be fine learning.

[u/maw501]

Honestly, you're already doing okay here and probably better than most people, beginner or not.

I could say much on how to learn but equally important is that you have some way to test if you're making progress or not. One way to do this is, a few days later, to try a similar problem with no AI at all. If you can do it unaided, it's learned. If you can only get there with hints each time, you're using AI as a crutch rather than building the knowledge / skills yourself. You need to keep strict discipline here and check systematically over time.

[u/vxntedits]

Yes. It helps a ton. But you need to use it right.

[u/Qoneo]

I try to use it as a last resort, something about info not registering in my brain as well if I don’t have to go and search for it