Coding Literacy in the Age of Generative AI

As demonstrated by recent advances in large language models and generative AI, it is now possible to generate code from simple natural language prompts. Given the importance of coding literacy to industry, this raises questions around the future of coding and the ethical implications of AI-generated code. In this paper, we review the recent work on automated code generation and place this in the context of industrial automation systems coding. Based on our experience, these new models have the potential to increase the importance of, as well as change the nature of coding literacy.