Quote of the day by former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki: 'Coding is like writing, and we live in a time of the new industrial revolution' commentary on society's relationship with programming

Date:
Tue, 16 Jun 2026 22:05:00 +0000

Description:
The late technology executive Susan Wojcicki drew strong parallels between
the rise of coding and the engineering bloom in the 1800s

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter One of the most influential forces in modern technology was Susan Wojcicki, who was instrumental in shaping Google in the very early years. She went on to lead YouTube during a significant period in the company's history before passing away in 2024. "Coding is like writing, and we live in a time of the new industrial revolution. Whats happened is that maybe everybody knows how to use
computers, like they know how to read, but they dont know how to write." Susan Wojcicki, December 2013 The new industrial revolution Shortly before taking on the leadership mantle at YouTube, Wojcicki who was then Google's senior vice president of advertising and commerce gave a lengthy interview
to the Financial Times . Quote of the day This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone
by. Read the full series here . During this discussion, she explained that coding was an instrumental component in society's toolbox and compared computer literacy with the fundamental skill of reading and writing. She
added that being able to write code is just as important as being able to write many, many decades before. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

Although her background was in marketing and advertising, she had an intimate understanding of the technology landscape and was key in overseeing Google's acquisition of YouTube 2006, before going on to lead the organization for
nine years. Retooling for the AI era Wojcicki's comparison between human-to-human communication and human-to-machine communication rings true if you strip down programming to the fundamental components including the expressions, syntax and rules. Similarly, literacy (whether conventional or digital) unlocks avenues and opens up new possibilities. You may like Quote
of the day by Steve Jobs: "Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think" advice on
upskilling for the future Quote of the day by Google CEO Sundar Pichai: AI is "more profound than electricity or fire" a reminder of its role as a
critical resource in the modern world Quote of the day by AMD CEO Lisa Su: "The age of traditional computing is dead" marking the start of the heterogeneous computing era

In the years that followed, these sentiments have rung true; the importance
of programming as a key skill in the modern era cannot be overstated.
However, the rise of AI has also added a new dimension lowering the barrier to entry with practices like 'vibe coding' and giving more and more workers the 'writing skills' they need. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/quote-of-the-day-by-former-youtube-ceo-susan-woj cicki-coding-is-like-writing-and-we-live-in-a-time-of-the-new-industrial-revol ution-commentary-on-societys-relationship-with-programming


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