should I get into artificial intelligence and Machine learning career with zero coding and programming skills from mechanical engineering background
Hello
yeah Sure. why not?
programming language used for ML and AI is completely different from C or C++. You have to learn Python/R which will make you familiar how code is written. Write simple programs like adding numbers, solving equations then factorial, sorting, searching, using data structures and then go for complex algorithms. You will be fluent in the programming. then start with ML first. you will learn the algorithms like Linear algorithms, probability and statistics, theorem and you will implement them to solve real time problems to predict or find out possible outcomes.
with minimum time of 1 year , you can learn all. follow free course from udemy, Udacity. YOu will learn all the basics. for practice, use dataquest.
Hope it helps!