“AI is going to take our jobs!” “Soon, everything will be done by robots.”
Statements like these have become increasingly common. Now, with the explosion of generative AI tools, there’s a sense of impending doom in some industries, spurred on by the perception that AI will render human roles obsolete. What about your business, though?
Software engineering and development are among the industries under scrutiny. Developers fear that the speed and ease of AI-generated code will eliminate their jobs. However, it’s important to realize that while AI creates code, human experts are still critical in the development process.
Changing Developer Roles in the Artificial Intelligence Era
AI in software engineering isn’t nearly as dominant as some might suspect. Quite simply, AI coding tools are just that: tools. Software developers do more than write code to make apps function; writing the actual code is one of the easier aspects of their jobs.
The majority of their work focuses on problem-solving. They also ensure that the programs they develop meet their purpose and work within the platform's constraints.
From this perspective, it’s easy to see that although AI creates code, engineers remain integral to the process.
The Limitations of AI-Generated Code
Software engineers have long used templates and code generators to expedite development and reduce the tedious and error-prone process of writing code. Generative AI enhances the capabilities of these tools, making it possible to generate large blocks of code using Natural Language Processing prompts.
While this gives engineers a starting point, AI-generated code usually needs further refinement. As your business likely already knows, several problems can arise when AI creates code and developers use it “as is.”
Bad Code
Research from Bilkent University found that 35% of the code produced by ChatGPT is “bad code,” meaning it contains critical errors. GenAI models are only as good as the data training them.
Security Risks
AI-assisted development can introduce security vulnerabilities. Again, the algorithms that create the code can only do what they have been trained to do and nothing more. If that training overlooks security standards, substantial security weaknesses will follow.
Lack of Function
Because AI coding tools often lack business context, they commonly produce technically valid code that doesn’t do what you need. Bad code might overlook important variables, rendering the finished product useless. Ultimately, these weaknesses underscore the ongoing need for human input.
Upskilling Software Engineers for the AI Era
Although coding skills still rank among developer fundamentals, the goalposts move as AI creates code. Upskilling and reskilling engineers requires re-centering the focus toward using AI tools most optimally and learning new skills like:
- Prompt development
- Leveraging data for learning models
- Critical thinking surrounding data
Building these skill sets ensures developers and businesses can create solutions using AI tools to their greatest advantage. While AI may not be coming for our jobs, it will change them. Is your business ready?
