There have been a lot of conversations going on about the need for people to learn how to code and the opportunities that are present. Since the creation of modern computing something interesting has started to happen, we have introduced a new form of literacy called coding. Traditional language is responsible for communicating status while the language of coding is responsible for communicating function.
This is a very new invention for the human race. We now have the ability to communicate functions to machines that will do actions without question. In the past if we wanted to get another human to do a function we would have to resort to trust, manipulation, or force. However with the advent of computers we now have the capability to have machines function through explicit language.
While it is new, we are starting to witness what I believe will be a growing trend. You will have two classes of people, those who can code, and those who cannot. Now this might seem absurd until you realize that something with significantly less power then coding already has a divisive affect on the world and that is common literacy. Those with computer skills are also starting to become the most rich people in the world as well. It is only going to get worse. As coding manifests itself as automation and things like 3D Printing become the norm, coders, and also those with technical skills, will increasingly have a significant edge over everyone else who doesn’t have the same capabilities. This doesn’t just apply to economics, it applies to warfare as well.
All wars, even religious ones, come down to economics. In the past the easiest way to do a large amount of economic damage was to kill other humans. The problem with this method was that both parties would lose. Increasingly humans are being left out of the equation entirely with things like drones. Further it is easier to attack through cyber methods then through traditional warfare. As the world becomes more and more globalized, the ability to steal digital work is far more valuable then having the capability to destroy and kill. Death and destruction will only lead to creating economic entities (countries or otherwise) that you can no longer exploit.
Now if this sounds like paradise, it’s not. Those without the capability to participate will be left in an absolute state of desperation and this can lead to internal violence. So while wars between countries may stop, internal economic pressures could result in an increase in violent crimes. The only way to combat such potential threats to civilization are to insure that as many people have the capabilities required as possible. If you have children, I highly recommend nudging them to learn how to code, even if they want to do something else with their lives. Their ability to code may be invaluable to them in the future.
