Is AI going to eliminate a lot of developers’ jobs? There is a gulf between developers and the general population when it comes to answering that question. If you were to ask developers if they think their jobs are in danger in the near term, most of them will quickly tell you that there is no imminent threat. In fact, according to Atlassian’s latest State of Developer Experience Report, 62% of developers think that today’s AI either doesn’t improve their productivity or improves it only slightly. So, while we are seeing some great new AI technology out there, the industry is still working towards broader adoption and more useful developer-oriented capabilities. However, among the general public there is a misconception that developer jobs are a prime target for AI replacement. I can understand this perception when anyone can go to an AI website, ask for some code and it just comes back to you. But after looking deeper at current and future product roadmaps for major software vendors, I have reached two conclusions. First, developers will continue to be valued resources for some time to come—years, at least. Second, we are entering a second generation of developer-assistance technologies that greatly enhance developer jobs—without threatening to replace them. Why do I say this? Because of all the ground that developers must cover in doing their work, and the limitations of any AI tool or set of tools that would try to cover that ground.
Full opinion : Is AI Coming For Coders’ Jobs or is it going to be a much more symbiotic relationship?
