Matthias presents the “Programming to Learn” approach, a form of “epistemic programming”.

The popular narrative around programming has shifted overnight from ‘essential career skill’ to ‘AI-obsolete craft.’ This shift exposes a utilitarian misunderstanding of what programming actually is. I argue that programming is a Kulturtechnik—a fundamental cultural technique, like the “three Rs” (reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic), that serves as a prerequisite for structured thought and reasoning.

In this talk, I make the case that programming must be a pillar of general education, regardless of whether a student ever needs to ‘build’ a software product. I will explore ‘epistemic programming’: the use of formal language as a medium for learning. The value lies not in the resulting artifact, but in the process of formalization itself.

If we stop teaching programming because ‘AI can do it,’ we aren’t just outsourcing labor; we are abandoning a vital mode of human reasoning. As designers of programming languages, this group is uniquely positioned to discuss how we can design languages that serve as cognitive scaffolds for this ‘fourth R.’ I am eager to hear your thoughts on how we can preserve and evolve programming as a primary tool for human thought.