Exploring Google’s AI Model: A Civil Engineer’s Journey into Code

In the age of rapid technological advancement, the intersection of engineering and artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly fascinating. Over the past two weekends, I embarked on an intriguing experience with Google’s cutting-edge AI model, leaving me both impressed and somewhat apprehensive.

A New Venture Without a Tech Background

To give you a bit of context, my professional background is in civil engineering, where my expertise lies in design and project management. I have little to no experience in coding or computer science, which made my recent foray into AI all the more compelling. Armed with a free student license for Google’s AI model, I aimed to explore whether someone like me—without any programming knowledge—could harness this technology to create practical applications.

Designing a Personal Project Tracker

My goal was straightforward: I wanted to develop a simple application to monitor my small-scale projects. The features I envisioned included basic financial tracking and visualizations such as charts to assess project health. While existing software solutions can perform these tasks, I desired something tailored to my specific needs.

With this ambition in mind, I dedicated nearly eight hours of my weekend to interact with the AI, treating it like a team of developers. My astonishment grew as the model generated the entire code for me. It guided me through the necessary steps, recommending software to download and precisely instructing me on where to input the code.

The Results: A Mixed Bag of Excitement and Fear

The outcome was a functioning application that met my requirements, even if it wasn’t perfect. The satisfaction of creating something from scratch, without any prior coding experience, was exhilarating. It demonstrated the incredible potential of AI to empower individuals like myself to turn ideas into reality.

However, on the flip side, this experience also left me feeling unsettled. The rapid pace at which these models are evolving is astonishing. As they continue to advance, I can’t help but wonder about the implications of this technology and what the future holds.

Looking Forward to New Projects

As I look ahead, I plan to continue exploring the capabilities of AI by developing more small-scale applications. The journey has just begun, and I’m eager to see what innovative solutions I can create with the help of this remarkable technology.

In summary, my venture into building an application with Google’s AI model has opened my eyes to the possibilities of coding, even for those of us who are not traditionally tech-savvy. If you