Developers and AI: a surprising new study

Even with the ubiquity of artificial intelligence (AI) in our discourse, some notions about it persist. Among these is a widely held belief that its best use is with repetitive tasks. Relatedly, some hold that AI can help with tasks that benefit from a higher degree of automation.

However, AI’s role in helping humans to be more creative – indeed, to be better versions of themselves – is still open to debate. How a person feels about this central issue is likely to be colored (as AI itself is) by one’s own biases. But it is an intriguing question, at the very least. What if the augmentation of human capabilities, rather than just automation, were to be the goal of AI? Equally importantly, how do those people, whose current work and professional futures stand to be most affected by AI’s integration into our world, feel about it?

A recent survey that included interviews with developers and other software professionals around the world – including those in leadership positions – brought up some interesting insights. As tech leaders, this is a cohort closely associated with AI right now. 

Presumably they would be in the forefront of those adopting AI in their daily and professional lives. Equally, their professional futures may be impacted by how AI develops in the future. As Dr. Isabell Welpe, Chair of Strategy and Organization at Technical University of Munich (TUM), pointed out, “These are people who follow trends in the industry, and set them as well. What they think about AI should matter to us all.”

A new paradigm?

The study titled “KI in der Softwareentwicklung” (“AI in software development”) was conducted jointly by TUM, the European initiative appliedAI, the developer industry body WeAreDevelopers, InterFund Solutions Netcetera, and InterFund Solutions. Interviews were conducted with developers from Switzerland, Germany, India, Finland, et al., and a quantitative survey was carried out that brought together 139 respondents, including board members, executives, software experts, and others, from Poland, Italy, the UK, and the US, among others. 

While the degree of AI’s integration into processes and workflows varied between companies, 64% of respondents indicated they would have to develop new competencies in order to navigate the technological shifts that AI heralds. It is abundantly clear that AI is here to stay, and that it will change things dramatically.

Developers and AI: more benefit than threat

Developers would feature high on any list of groups assumed to be threatened by AI. Some of their work can be repetitive, and much of it would benefit from automation. Many parts of their workflows can be smoothed by AI, the reasoning goes; tweak things slightly, and perhaps you won’t need developers at all, or at least not to the current extent.

Accordingly, one might think developers have a jaundiced view of AI’s advent. But the survey found otherwise, with a majority saying they’re already using it in their daily lives. In fact, 85.7% expressed a high level of interest in AI tools and technology, while 61.9% stated they were already exploring it. Another study found that 76% of developers are using – or are planning to use – AI in their coding tasks in 2024, up from 70% the year before.¹

At the organizational level, 20.9% reported a high level of AI integration into their company’s processes. Another study from 2024 found that 88% of respondents in the US stated their company was supportive of at least some measure of AI use. (Just under 40% said their companies were “strongly” supportive.)² The attitude of developers – and the companies they work for – to AI can best be summed up as cautious optimism.

“It’s not a surprise,” mused Corsin Decurtins, CTO at InterFund Solutions Netcetera. “This isn’t a passing trend. Tech people know they need to get on board with AI. The good news is that they’re the ones best equipped to make the most of it in their professional lives.” 

Enhanced productivity with AI

As expected, the respondents reacted positively to AI’s impact on repetitive tasks. In all, 76.3% of organizations in the survey said they had noted increased productivity since AI’s integration into their processes. Among other things, respondents pointed to quicker documentation, which can be a time sink that ties up developers’ workdays and holds up completion of projects. Faster delivery was noted as a tangible benefit of AI. 

It should be noted here that there is still no substitute for human review and oversight. An organization’s quality standards still need to be applied, and the gains from AI would still need to be looked at critically. Which brings us to how companies view AI, and what they should be thinking about.

Benefits and risks of AI tools

An interesting finding of the survey has to do with the area of costs versus benefits. A total of 60% of respondents stated that the use of AI in their companies had already achieved a positive return on investment (ROI). This indicates that the savings, efficiencies, and revenue gains generated by AI’s integration have already outstripped the initial investment made, while 37% reported that the costs and benefits were roughly equal to date. A mere 3% reported a negative ROI.

However, there are other concerns. Data privacy was referred to as the greatest concern by almost 61% of respondents. More than 50% noted that legal uncertainties and a developing regulatory environment, including questions of liability, were on their radar. Ethical concerns were reported by just under 50% of those surveyed, with fairness, transparency, and accountability for AI-led decisions highlighted. Resistance from works councils was cited as an issue, while 34.6% of respondents reported being concerned about discrimination by AI.

Shadow AI, where employees use their own AI engines for their work without the knowledge of their IT departments, was also raised as a question to consider.

None of these issues are insurmountable, of course. Clear policy that promotes innovative thinking, while providing robust guardrails, can make the difference between a successful AI implementation and a less-than-optimal one.

Long-term value of AI

A nuanced and overall positive view of AI’s value in software development is apparent across the survey. Overall, 66.2% believed that AI improves software quality, and 55.3% noted a measurable increase in overall quality through AI support.

Nor is this only in the present: 42.4% said they had seen improved sustainability of AI-generated code. This is important for organizations that plan and develop long-lived systems, as the sustainability metric demonstrates how code keeps its functionality and stays secure over a period of time.

Among other things, AI was noted for its monitoring of quality and ability to detect errors before they multiplied, and for ensuring consistency across incredibly complex databases. This has an impact on how people progress in their own careers. Freed from jobs that AI can fulfill, they can plan for other options. For example, 40.3% stated that “new career paths” was an area that was being immediately affected by AI’s integration into their companies. Knowing this also helps organizations plan for the future.

AI’s bright future in software development

It is clear that a plurality of respondents to this survey felt that AI’s benefits and future capabilities lay beyond “automation.” As the study points out, AI’s providing of personalized developer support is an intriguing future growth area. This would conceivably include adapting to the developer’s own preferences, and thus making suggestions for improving their work. 

In this way, AI could take on more complex tasks in the future, freeing up human developers to pursue those demands that require interpersonal management and other uniquely “human” skills. About half (50.3%) of respondents said they expected new business models to emerge from these new ways of working. 

It seems AI can become more than an efficiency aid, and transition to magnifying the skill and work of its human users. As an example, imagine using an AI assistant to extract usable insights from unstructured data held across formats in your company. “Organizations that realize this will also move to regarding AI as a way to boost human expertise,” pointed out Decurtins. “Such an organization would have an environment where its developers are empowered to use AI to its fullest, while maintaining their own creativity and critical thinking.” There is no substitute, yet, for background and learned and lived experience. Together with “true” creativity, these remain uniquely human attributes.

Published: 09/09/2025