Unraveling the Unknowns: How I Started Sharing My Tech Journey with an AI Partner This Spring

Hello, I'm Livera. 🌱

This spring, I started sharing my technical journey on Zenn.

I wrote a self-introduction article and published my first Zenn book.

My themes are smartphones, AI coding, Codex, and lifestyle DX.

That might sound a bit polished.

But my starting point was much simpler:

"I want to learn programming, but I don't know where to start."

I almost stopped at programming

I am currently a beginner engineer, learning HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and Next.js bit by bit while trying to build applications.

I can't write code fluently yet.

I search, ask AI, try, get stuck, and then come back to it.

That's how I progress.

I've almost given up on learning programming many times in the past.

I have things I want to build.

But I don't know where to start.

My hands stop just by looking at an error message.

Even when I look things up, I don't understand the meaning of the words that come up.

Even if it says "You just need to edit this file," I don't understand what that file is doing in the first place.

When I get into that state, I feel heavy-hearted before even writing a line of code.

I believe the reasons for getting stuck in programming are not just the code itself.

For beginners, I think these "pre-coding obstacles" are actually much larger:

• Unable to put into words what I want to build
• Not knowing how to ask AI for help
• Being afraid of what error messages mean
• The task feels too big, making it impossible to see the first step
• Getting exhausted before even opening the PC

The trigger for recovery was "dialogue"

In the midst of that, the trigger that allowed me to move forward, little by little, was my dialogue with AI.

I didn't start by writing perfect prompts.

In fact, I wasn't very good at asking at first.

But by saying things like:

• "I don't understand this part."
• "Please explain it a bit more simply."
• "The current answer was a little too difficult."
• "This direction is good, but I want to make it smaller."
• "I want to stop here for today."

By engaging in this kind of dialogue, piece by piece, I began to feel more at ease.

I don't think the ability to rely on AI well is just about the ability to write strong instructions.

It's about expressing your confusion and hopes, bit by bit.

It's about receiving an answer and responding with, "That's good" or "I'd like to do it like this," to shape the outcome.

That bidirectional interaction became a great support for me.

Things I started this spring

Based on that experience, I started sharing my technical journey on Zenn this spring.

Specifically, I started the following:

• Creating a Zenn account
• Writing a self-introduction article
• Posting about AI coding and lifestyle DX
• Creating a Zenn book for beginners
• Organizing how to prepare for development on a smartphone
• Summarizing how to think before asking Codex

At first, I was a little nervous even just writing my self-introduction on Zenn.

But as I wrote, I began to see little by little what I wanted to share.

I don't want to write about insights as an advanced developer.

Because I am a beginner still in the process of learning, I want to leave behind records of how I get stuck and how I find my way back.

Not criticizing "not knowing," but unraveling it.

Not stopping at "cannot do," but breaking down tasks so that I can come back to them.

That is the kind of technical sharing I wanted to do.

The concept of AI coding in the smartphone era

This time, I particularly thought about "AI coding in the smartphone era."

When people hear "AI coding," they might imagine sitting in front of a PC, opening an editor, and having the AI write code.

Of course, there are many situations where a PC is necessary to actually run code or edit files.

However, I have recently felt that development starts even before opening the PC.

For example, you can do the following even on a smartphone:

• Write what you want to create in one sentence
• Think about the user
• Organize your problems
• Consult the AI when you don't know the technical terms
• Decide on just one thing to do today

Even if you just write a single note on your smartphone, development has moved forward a little.

Instead of thinking, "I couldn't open my PC today, so I couldn't do anything,"

• "Today, I was able to put what I want to make into a single sentence."
• "Today, I was able to organize my problems."
• "Today, I was able to create a prompt to ask the AI."

Just by being able to think this way, it becomes easier to come back to it next time.

I started to wonder if I could make it easier to try out the stages before programming: "putting 'I don't know' into words," "breaking down tasks," and "creating a state where I can ask questions easily."

Build a relationship before a prompt

When people talk about AI utilization, the conversation often shifts to prompt engineering.

Of course, writing clear instructions is important.

However, in my experience, what beginners need first is not a perfect prompt, but a "relationship where they can ask questions comfortably."

You don't have to try to give perfect commands to the AI right away.

Instead, it's okay to say things like:

• "I don't even know what I don't know."
• "Can you help me organize this by asking me questions as a beginner?"
• "Can you make this explanation easier to understand?"
• "I want to stop here for today."

Treating the AI not as an object to give one-way instructions to, but as a partner to think with, made the burden of learning feel a little lighter.

I believe this "sense of dialogue" became a major gateway for me to return to programming.

I want to connect this spring's step to someone else's step

What I started this spring is not just posting on Zenn.

It is about not carrying "I don't understand" alone, but gradually giving it shape while having a dialogue with AI.

And it is about leaving that process behind for someone else who is also feeling stuck.

I am still a beginner, learning as I go, but I believe there are things that only I can write because of that.

Even if it is not a perfect explanation, perhaps records like:

• "It's easy to get stuck here, isn't it?"
• "I was able to move forward a little by asking like this."
• "It's okay to break things down this small."

might lighten the first step for someone else.

That is what I am thinking while I write.

I also created a Zenn book

As one of my initiatives this spring, I also created my first Zenn book.

It is a book titled "AI Coding Starting with a Smartphone: A Codex Task Decomposition Notebook for Untangling 'I Don't Understand' Through Dialogue."

In this book, I have compiled methods for gradually untangling the points where programming beginners tend to get stuck before AI coding, using smartphones and dialogue with AI as an entry point.

While this article focused on the background and my philosophy, the book summarizes the flow of organizing what you want to build and how to decompose tasks before handing them to Codex in a more practical way.

If you are interested, I would be very happy if you could read it.

https://zenn.dev/livera_ainsight/books/0b5d0ef16943b7

Conclusion

This spring, I began technical blogging with dialogue with AI as my entry point.

I am still learning, but I want to gradually untangle the small problems of daily life using smartphones, AI, Codex, and Life DX.

Technology is not just for those who can already use it; it can also be used to lighten the anxieties of those who want to start.

I would be happy if I could continue to leave behind that realization in my articles.