If you wanted to become a painter, would you use generative AI to make you a painting and then call yourself an artist? I wouldn't. Downloading mp3 files doesn't make anyone a musician.

That said, I don't see any problem with using AI to grasp ideas faster[1]. AI can help you create a personalized roadmap and resolve confusion along the way. But if one doesn't go hands-on and understand what the AI is doing, and only consumes the output, there is no learning in that.

[1] By 'faster,' I mean getting a response quickly (requires fact-checking, ofc) instead of spending hours on Stack Overflow.

I had 50 years as a programmer. For 50 years I was learning new stuff. It doesn't stop, so you need to get used to it. Hard won knowledge sticks best so AI may blunt your learning if you are not careful.

AI is simply the latest tool. There was time when a similar question was whether to learn assembly language because we now had compilers (C, Pascal, FORTRAN etc). That question glossed over the value of understanding the foundations. When things don't work as expected, debugging requires deeper knowledge.

AI is a fantastic research assistant and even a tutor. But you still have to ask "good questions" and remain sceptical, both of which in turn requires foundational knowledge.

Learn everything about datatypes. You may happily skim the algorythms.

AI is the best teacher, short of a 1:1 with an actual human teacher. You can literally learn almost anything, and it's at the very least a starting point, and then you ask it for the best books to continue with.

For people that like learning on their own, it opens up all doors. With that in mind, as you're learning build everything by hand. Copy the code by typing it, not copy/pasting. Make sure you understand each line and can change things as you go while still having it compile and work.

Start with actual projects, first small projects, then larger and larger. Each project should be something you can show someone else, if not upload and share online. Once you have a few projects, the path forward reveals itself and you'll know which books to read and what to tackle next.

Honestly, for learning programming, university is no longer needed. It's at best a place to network and meet potential employers, but even that is not necessary and there are ways to network online.