Recently, discussions about generative AI have started to become more frequent, giving rise to wide-ranging debates. This technology is increasingly present in many fields and areas of interest, has its upsides and downsides altogether, but there’s one thing that either party – aficionados and detractors – can all agree on – AI has the potential to make the work and efforts of employees more efficient.
As expected, in the tech realm, some software developers could not miss stepping up on the boat that they helped build. As a consequence, there have been multiple iterations of how embracing AI could decrease response times and assist in QA. But the question still remains – do these happy encounters speak for the whole, do software developers and generative artificial intelligence really match?
VON Tech, a company with more than 10 years experience in helping IT businesses grow, helps us with some insights in the following analysis.
It’s a fact: technology can simplify the work process
First of all, it is worth mentioning that completing tasks can be facilitated with the help of artificial intelligence. Joe Welch, principal and technology leader for a division of The Planet Group, comments: ”By incorporating GitHub Copilot into VS Code for a recent project, we saw programmers reduce ten-minute tasks, such as writing a small function, down to the 30 seconds it took to simply write out a comment that explains the function”.
However, time efficiency depends a lot on the developer’s experience and the task itself. The results of a study published by McKinsey in the summer of this year demonstrated it. Specifically, time savings were below 10% for tasks considered to be of high complexity. Also, for some of the developers with less than a year of experience, tasks took 7 to 10% longer with the AI tools than without.
Developer’s expertise vs. AI’s capabilities
The same study indicated that examining code for bugs and errors was not always performed in an exemplary manner, with incorrect recommendations and even introduction of errors into the code. Moreover, AI does not have the ability to fully understand the needs of a company and the particularities that must be taken into account when working on a project. So the claim of a participant in the McKinsey study who said ”[Generative AI] is least helpful when the problem becomes more complicated and the big picture needs to be taken under consideration” is totally justified.
And yet, the segments that can benefit from the help of AI in a hassle-free manner cannot be overlooked. Repetitive tasks, part of the routine, such as auto-filling standard functions used in coding or documenting code functionality in a given standard format, can be completed successfully. So developers have more time to deal with complex problems and upgrade their skills. In addition, this tool can also be used to speed up updates to existing code by adjusting the code according to criteria provided by the developers.
The human factor and the technological one, such a great team
One thing is certain: artificial intelligence will not “take over”, but will only support developers to make their work more efficient. Therefore, the need for talented staff with good skills and anchored to the latest changes in the field will be constantly present.
VON Tech is ready to help with this. It is an experienced company that provides hardware design and verification, as well as embedded software development, implementation and application testing services, in the US, Germany, SEE (3 locations in Romania) and UAE. It can also give your business the most agile, cost-effective and top-quality services on the market.
All you have to do is send a message to office@vontech.online and discover which solutions best suit your business and its needs!