What is the programming language you should learn this year? Most people who consider dedicating themselves to web development ask themselves this question and yes, The first idea that arises is to take a Python courseJavaScript or Rust, but the reality is different.
Artificial intelligence is changing the programming sector forever. So far in 2026, we are already seeing an exponential increase in the use of this tool in backend and frontend projects.
Sam Altman has warned this on several occasions. From the simplest to the most complicated jobs, they require the use of code generation AI assistants such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude or Gemini.
This has resulted in the famous «vibe coding»a new method of Prompt-based work that serves to «program in natural language». As crazy as it may sound, analysts claim that the real replacement for Python is English.
AI makes English the «most important programming language»
Surely you have seen more than one news story where they warn that artificial intelligence is going to replace developers. Unfortunately, it is not entirely false and can be seen in the new working methods X10 Programmers that many companies are applying to reduce staff.
Are we crossing a new threshold of abstraction in software development? Why is this happening? Like most things happening in the tech industry, it all revolves around artificial intelligence.
Now that you can be more productive and virtual assistants meet the function of generating, editing or correcting code In various types of projects, they are increasingly used tools.
Added to this is the aforementioned vibe codingwhich has even led to Hackathon winners who do not have 100% knowledge of programming. So, is Python or any other programming language really worth studying?
Uncertainty spreads because this trend is not just fashion or hype. The ecosystems of Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic or Replit are becoming essential for this sector.
Of course, studying is crucial and if you specialize, you will surely survive the impact of AI. Well, now that that has been clarified, if you are looking for a good programming language, as strange as it may sound, most companies are putting English in a leading role.
Obviously, it is a language and it is not something that has the same characteristics as one of machines like C++, JavaScript, Rust and others.
According to The New Stack, Omdia expert Brad Shimmin claims that actually human language is crucial to achieve results and will continue to be the most important in the future.
“The biggest programming language of the year has to be a natural spoken human language with GenAI code completion and even full development tools like Aider and Cline allowing developers to use, say, English, as a declarative programming language in its own right.”
As the source indicates, a human language will dethrone a traditional programming language, although not literally. The reason is because the main development of chatbots is done in this language and is configured that way.
Therefore, it is actually known as a “declarative programming language.” Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI, was one of the first to predict this when he mentioned practically the same thing due to code generation with prompts.
«Tell a machine that we want and let her solve the as» It is one of the things we work on today. For example, you see it reflected in tools like GitHub Copilot, Replit, Aider, Cline, Cursor or Zed.
Describing a functionality in English is enough to get code ready to run, which makes it become a skill worthy of a «developer’s toolbox».
Does not replace code: changes who can code and how software is built
This It doesn’t mean that Python is dead.but in the future learning English could be a fundamental requirement to optimize work.
Other experts such as Sriram Devanathan from AWS highlight that code from scratch will continue to be essential in specific uses. Additionally, judgment, oversight, and exact change points are irreplaceable.
On the other hand, Eric Newcomer of Intellyx warns that English is for general use only. and that it is not enough to achieve detailed objectives.
It is clear that, with progress, developers will have the advantage of investing less time in writing or structuring lines of code, but that does not mean that it is the end of Python, JavaScript and other languages, but rather the birth of a new way of working.