Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

The software engineering industry is on the cusp of a revolution, thanks to the advent of generative AI. This technology has the potential to transform the way software is developed, tested, and acquired, and experts are eager to explore its possibilities.

Recently, a national study brought together experts from the global software engineering community to discuss the future of the industry. The study, titled "Architecting the Future of Software Engineering: A National Agenda for Software Engineering Research and Development," defined a vision for how software-intensive systems of the future would be developed, with AI playing a prominent role.

According to Dr. Doug Schmidt, a renowned researcher and professor at Vanderbilt University, generative AI is a subset of artificial intelligence that enables the creation of new content, such as code, images, and music. This technology has the potential to automate many aspects of software development, including testing and deployment.

However, experts agree that generative AI is not a replacement for human intelligence. James Ivers, a principal engineer at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), emphasized the importance of human-AI collaboration. "Humans and AI need to work together to get the best results," he said. "AI can assist, but humans are still needed to guide it."

Dr. Epek Osaya, a principal researcher at the SEI, highlighted the shifting tasks and developing new tools that will result from the partnership between humans and AI. "The partnership between humans and AI will be critical in shifting tasks and developing new tools," she said.

The panel discussed various topics related to generative AI in software engineering, including its potential to generate code, configurations, deployments, test cases, and more. They also explored the gaps and risks associated with using generative AI, such as ensuring the trustworthiness of AI-generated code.

John Robert, a principal engineer at the SEI, emphasized the need for continuous assurance practices in software engineering. "We need to ensure that the software we develop is reliable, secure, and meets the requirements of our customers," he said.

Shen Zen, a senior software engineer at the SEI, shared his experience using large language models to accelerate software engineering use cases. "Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we develop software," he said.

The future of software engineering looks promising, thanks to the advent of generative AI. While there are risks and challenges associated with this technology, experts agree that the benefits far outweigh the costs. As the industry continues to evolve, we can expect to see significant advancements in software development, testing, and acquisition.