Cloudflare's CEO told us why you should still learn to code

• Cloudflare's CEO told BI that learning to code is still important, even if you don't write it as much.
• Matthew Prince said code would never get released at the company without "significant human review."
• He said he's focused on making employees more efficient with AI, not replacing them.

As the CEO of a multibillion-dollar cybersecurity company, Matthew Prince doesn't write much code — but he said "it's incredibly handy" to understand the basics, even as AI tools take over the heavy lifting.

"Even if you're not the person who has your hands on the keyboard writing the code anymore, I think a basic understanding is helpful," The Cloudflare CEO said in an interview with Business Insider.

Prior to starting the company, Prince studied computer science, which places a strong emphasis on skills like coding and software development. He also went to law school after finishing his undergrad degree and later got his MBA. While he doesn't practice law or do much coding nowadays, he said he's "a better CEO" because he understands how Cloudflare's engineering team builds software and how the legal team approaches their work.

"I think the same thing can be true, even if you're a coder and you're spending a lot more time supervising rather than, you know, typing," Prince said.

Prince isn't the only one to support the age-old "learn to code" advice. Google's Head of Research, Yossi Matias, previously told BI that the basics are as important as ever, especially with the growing amount of opportunity to build upon those skills. Cisco executive Liz Centoni also said the advice is still relevant, and her foundation in coding helped make her a better problem solver.

Prince also added that the role of a software engineer is still needed, even if AI can now help generate code.

"Especially in a field that is as security conscious as we are, you know, no code would ever get released without significant human review," Prince said.

He also said the same is true in reverse — "no human code would get released without AI review."

Okta CEO Todd McKinnon recently shared a similar sentiment and told BI that software engineers aren't going away just because there's been efficiency improvements in the field — in fact, he thinks they'll be more in demand in the next few years.

The projections come as many software engineers have experienced a major shift in their jobs as AI tools have increasingly been used to automate coding tasks. Google has said over a quarter of new code at the tech giant is generated by AI, and Microsoft's CTO recently said 95% of code will be AI-generated in five years. AI efficiency gains have even led some companies like Salesforce to pause hiring new engineers.

Prince isn't blind to AI's impact and its ability to improve productivity. He told BI that the company is running a series of internal pilots to see where AI can make its team more productive. Prince said machine learning systems have helped identify previously undetected threats. AI systems have also helped save thousands of hours of work in areas like customer support and resulted in improved customer satisfaction and ratings, he said.

Prince told BI that this hasn't resulted in fewer customer support employees being needed. Prince said the integration of AI is less about replacing teams and more about giving them "superpowers."

"AI has helped us not replace people, but help make people better," Prince said.