Beyond Coding: Solving the problems we haven’t seen yet

Learning to code or learning how to use AI is important, but what matters even more is learning how to solve problems we haven’t even discovered yet.

Recently, I read an article featuring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, where he said:
“Nothing would give me more joy than if none of our engineers were coding at all, and they were just purely solving undiscovered problems.”

That idea really stayed with me. In the AI era, writing code is becoming easier and more accessible. With AI tools, almost anyone can become a programmer faster than ever before. But as AI advances, it also brings new challenges and unanswered questions. Instead of focusing only on learning to code, maybe we should also look at the problems AI still cannot solve and try to find answers there. That’s where new opportunities and even new definitions of careers can emerge.

At the same time, fundamentals still matter. For someone like me, who didn’t come from a technical background, learning the basics is essential. I need to understand how the system works before I can help solve problems when they appear. Without basic technical or AI knowledge, I wouldn’t even feel confident thinking about deeper issues behind the technology.

I realized this more clearly after joining my current company. To build a good product, I needed to understand how it was built, how to communicate with engineers, how to identify problems, and how to propose solutions. I had to relearn many things from scratch, including coding. But my goal was never to become a great coder learning technical skills was simply a tool to help me do something bigger.

As a non-technical person, everything still feels new, and strong foundations are necessary.

I’m curious for those of you with technical backgrounds, how do you see this? In the AI era, where should we focus our learning and efforts?