In an era where artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the software industry, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has a clear message for those aiming to break into tech: Never underestimate the power of strong fundamentals. In a recent chat with popular tech YouTuber Sajjaad Khade, Nadella offered a dose of grounded advice for beginners hoping to make their mark in the tech world. Despite AI's growing capabilities, he believes that foundational computational thinking and system design skills remain critical. "Just getting real fundamentals of software (if you're a software engineer), I think, matters a lot," Nadella said. "To me, having the ability to think computationally (is important)."

Khade posed the question and asked Nadella what one piece of advice he would offer someone just starting out in today's AI-driven software landscape. Nadella highlighted that while AI can assist in coding, it still relies heavily on the user's ability to think logically and offer structured guidance.

"The path to being that software architect gets speeded up," he explained. "All of us are going to be more software architects."

Nadella used a personal anecdote to underline his point. He recalled how he recently encountered a bug in his code and resolved it using GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding assistant. "Except I was thinking about it, it was a pretty cool issue, right? The issue was I did a filter, which was basically a percentile... creating a feature. But then I said, 'Oh man, this is, like, you know, I could, you know, recount what is a SQL, right?'"

This balance between human insight and AI-powered assistance, Nadella argues, is what the future of coding looks like. While AI will continue to handle more repetitive and mechanical tasks, the core responsibilities of structuring problems and designing coherent systems will fall to humans.

In fact, the extent to which AI has already penetrated Microsoft's own software development process is striking. In a conversation with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year, Nadella revealed that AI currently writes a significant portion of Microsoft’s code.

"I’d say maybe 20 per cent, 30 per cent of the code that is inside of our repos today and some of our projects are probably all written by software," he noted.

Nadella also spotlighted the concept of "agentic AI" during his keynote at Microsoft Build last month. According to him, "The agentic web is reshaping the entire tech stack, and we are creating new opportunities for devs at every layer."

His commitment to preparing future tech professionals isn’t limited to philosophy and product development. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a major initiative in India as part of its broader global AI strategy. In partnership with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the company has pledged to skill 500,000 students, educators, developers, government officials, and women entrepreneurs across the country by 2026.

Key elements of this partnership include the establishment of an AI Centre of Excellence named "AI Catalysts," aimed at nurturing rural innovation and empowering a growing community of 100,000 AI developers. Furthermore, Microsoft will set up 20 AI productivity labs in National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and NIELIT centres across ten Indian states, designed to train 20,000 educators in core AI concepts.

This hands-on skilling push aligns with Nadella's emphasis on mastering the fundamentals. As AI continues to grow more sophisticated, those who pair a strong technical foundation with the ability to collaborate effectively with AI tools are the ones most likely to thrive.

So, if you’re planning to venture into tech, take it from Nadella, AI might write the code, but it’s human ingenuity that still defines what that code should do.

Source: India Today.