Software development is changing pretty fast right now. Tools such as GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT help us to complete routine tasks faster by suggesting lines of code and recognizing patterns. AI is taking over all the monotonous tasks, making room for more complex projects. Google recently announced that much of its new code will be written by AI.
But what does this mean in concrete terms for the role of people in software development?
AI can make many technical tasks more efficient, but it also turns many important tasks into tasks for us humans: Decisions, ethical issues, user-friendliness, alignment with the vision, quality control and so on. And also: AI provides us with a solution that works - but is it sustainable? Does it fit in with our corporate values? We can only answer these questions ourselves for the time being.
Companies that want to be successful in the long term must understand that the best AI tools only really create added value in the hands of qualified, healthy (!) and motivated people. Companies that only invest in the latest technology and forget to support their employees will lose out in the long run. Today, different skills are required than in the past: agile working, creativity, decisiveness and ethical sensitivity are more important than ever.
“Anyone who invests in AI must also invest in people!” - Richard Seidl
There are also issues such as stress resilience and focused work. Because when agility turns into stress (which I unfortunately see again and again in some Scrum implementations), the whole system works worse than before.
AI can support us in many tasks, inspire new solutions and recognize certain problem patterns independently. But we are and will remain the designers and decision-makers. The future of software development will not be a one-way street of automation, but an interplay between technology and people in which the responsibility and foresight of the individual is still at the center.