Risk analyst Ian Bremmer declared that “learn to code” has become worse career advice than “get a face tattoo,” citing AI’s rapid displacement of programming jobs during a recent appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher.” His stark assessment reflects a dramatic reversal in the tech job market, where recent computer science graduates now face higher unemployment rates than those who studied journalism, political science, and English.
The unemployment reality: Recent data from the New York Federal Reserve reveals computer science and engineering majors are struggling more than expected in today’s job market.
- Computer science majors face a 6.1% unemployment rate, ranking seventh-highest among all majors.
- Computer engineering graduates have it worse at 7.5% unemployment, the third-highest rate.
- Both rates exceed the overall recent graduate unemployment rate of 5.8%.
What they’re saying: Bremmer emphasized the speed of this career trajectory collapse during the HBO show discussion.
- “Just five years ago, the smartest advice that we had for the kids was ‘learn how to code,'” Bremmer recollected. “That is literally worse advice now than ‘get a face tattoo.’ You can’t do worse than learn to code.”
- He noted that people who previously held “cushy software developer jobs are now selling their plasma to make ends meet.”
The AI replacement cycle: Tech experts warn that the new “learn AI” advice may prove equally problematic as artificial intelligence continues evolving.
- Serial entrepreneur Joe Procopio argued in Inc magazine that “learn AI” advice is “probably about as effective long-term as ‘learn to code.'”
- “We’ve already inadvertently created a class of ‘AI talent’ that knows how to code with GitHub Copilot,” Procopio wrote. “This is not going to create better code for better apps for better business outcomes.”
Why this matters: The rapid shift from coding being considered a safe career bet to a potential dead end illustrates AI’s accelerating impact on white-collar employment, forcing a fundamental rethink of career planning and educational priorities in the tech sector.
The bigger picture: Historian Rutger Bregman, also appearing on the show, suggested that capitalists will eventually “come up with new bullsh*t jobs” for displaced workers, though Procopio warns this creates a “vicious cycle” where each new wave of training produces workers easily replaced by the next AI advancement.
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