Yes. AI can produce code quickly, but someone still has to decide what to build and judge whether the result is right. Learning to code builds that judgment, along with problem solving that stays useful in any career.
It is one of the most common questions parents ask now, and it is a fair one. If a chatbot can write a working program in seconds, why spend years learning to do it by hand?
The Raspberry Pi Foundation, an education charity, took on this question in a June 2025 position paper. It sets out five reasons kids should still learn to code.
Five reasons from the research
- We still need skilled human programmers. AI output comes with no guarantee that it is accurate or relevant, so people have to be able to check it.
- Writing code is how you learn to program. The effort of turning an idea into exact instructions is where much of the thinking develops.
- Coding opens more doors as AI spreads. The paper expects coding skills to matter across more industries, not fewer.
- Coding is a form of literacy. It gives young people more say in a digital world, rather than only using what others build.
- The kids who learn to code will shape the future. The more young people who can build technology, the wider the group deciding what it does.
The paper also points to a study of 211 million lines of code changed by AI assistants, which found signs of declining code quality. Its conclusion was that developers should focus on simplifying and consolidating code, which takes real understanding.
What your child actually gains
Most children who learn to code will not become programmers, and that is fine. What they practice carries over:
- Breaking a big problem into small steps.
- Being precise about what they mean.
- Testing an idea and working out why it did or did not work.
- Sticking with a problem until they find the bug.
Where AI fits in
Learning to code and learning about AI work well together. A child who can read code gets far more from AI tools, because they can tell when an answer is wrong and ask a better question.
That is the thinking behind our AI Academy for ages 10 to 14. Ninjas train and test their own models across nine modules, and look for where those models get things wrong. It usually runs alongside Create, our core coding program.
Common questions
Will AI replace programmers?
Nobody can say exactly how jobs will change. The Raspberry Pi Foundation's position is that we will still need skilled human programmers to judge and improve what AI produces.
Should my child learn AI or coding first?
They work well together. Our core programs start with coding, and ninjas aged 10 to 14 can add the AI Academy alongside it.
Can my child use AI tools while learning to code?
Yes, as long as they are still doing the thinking. Writing and fixing code themselves is what builds the skill.
Does my child need to code before joining the AI Academy?
No. AI can be taken on its own, and most ninjas take it alongside Create.
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