DEV Community

Cover image for Don't Build React & Next.js Apps with ChatGPT Without Becoming a Developer First
Kamiswara Angga W.
Kamiswara Angga W.

Posted on

Don't Build React & Next.js Apps with ChatGPT Without Becoming a Developer First

The debate over whether AI can replace programmers has been ongoing for a while. However, after learning and observing AI's development recently, I am more convinced that AI will not fully replace programmers—at least not in the near future.

There are already several platforms that allow website or even startup application development using AI. However, in reality, the quality and design of these AI-generated projects are still far from ideal. The designs often lack user experience optimization and fail to meet industry standards.

A while ago, there was news claiming that a company had developed AI capable of coding, debugging, and even searching autonomously. Upon further investigation, this information turned out to be either exaggerated or outright false. The belief that AI can completely replace programmers is premature and needs to be clarified.

I've encountered people who have no understanding of React or Next.js yet attempt to build a startup application using AI alone. Without proper UI/UX design in Figma, they rely solely on ChatGPT to generate code. The result? The code is often bloated, non-reusable, and filled with redundancies. I’ve worked with a team where someone took this approach, and the outcome was far from satisfactory.

Do not build applications solely with AI if you don’t understand coding yourself. How can you conclude that coding in React and Next.js can be entirely replaced by AI if you don’t understand React and Next.js at all? Moreover, if we ask AI, whether it's ChatGPT or DeepSeek, they are not even aware that Next.js is now at version 15. They still think it’s at version 13. This proves that as developers, we still need to read documentation and keep learning.

For example, React has essential concepts like useState and useEffect, while Next.js involves SSR (Server-Side Rendering) and CSR (Client-Side Rendering). It took me more than 2 months to learn these frameworks properly. In my opinion, if you want to utilize AI for coding, you should first become a developer and dedicate at least 2 months to learning these technologies.

As developers, we understand these shortcomings, but to the general public, AI might seem like a magical solution for building applications. The reality is, if someone lacks fundamental coding knowledge and depends entirely on AI, the final product can be a disaster. On the other hand, if someone already understands coding and leverages AI as a tool, the results can be extraordinary.

In conclusion, using AI for coding is not inherently wrong—as long as you have a solid understanding of programming fundamentals. AI should be seen as a tool to enhance and accelerate development, not as a complete replacement for developers.

Heroku

Simplify your DevOps and maximize your time.

Since 2007, Heroku has been the go-to platform for developers as it monitors uptime, performance, and infrastructure concerns, allowing you to focus on writing code.

Learn More

Top comments (0)

Image of Timescale

Timescale – the developer's data platform for modern apps, built on PostgreSQL

Timescale Cloud is PostgreSQL optimized for speed, scale, and performance. Over 3 million IoT, AI, crypto, and dev tool apps are powered by Timescale. Try it free today! No credit card required.

Try free

👋 Kindness is contagious

Please leave a ❤️ or a friendly comment on this post if you found it helpful!

Okay