Artificial intelligence’s impact on the digital world should not be underestimated. Humans haven’t experienced such a drastic transformation in their relationship with the natural world since the invention of the electrical grid.
While many renowned experts predict that AI will transform critical operations that we all take for granted — everything from transportation to purchasing new shoes — it looks that the first industry to be affected by a new AI-driven operating paradigm will be software development.
Increasing intelligence
According to IDC, the global AI industry will reach $341.8 billion in 2021 and surpass $500 billion by 2024, representing an annual growth rate of 18.8%. It should be noted. However, that software will account for 88 per cent of this industry, with apps accounting for the other half.
What impact will this have on the software market? For starters, it will change how code is developed, updated, and distributed. With AI able to make adjustments to itself, the focus of highly skilled, highly paid software developers will shift away from the mundane grind of developing and rewriting minute routines and toward more creative, strategic-level activities that provide value and drive fundamental business processes. Simultaneously, DevOps will become more automated and responsive to users, who will describe their goals and have AI translate them into code.
This might change how software is purchased and sold, with individual customers receiving the upgrades they require from AI rather than paying more for a developer’s generic new version.
However, this does not imply the end of commercial software development. AI will help firms become leaner and meaner in various ways, according to tech writer Smith Johnes. Starting with more general AI benefits like better market analysis and cost planning, companies can also expect AI-based programming assistants, automated testing and compilation, and streamlined bug fixing — all of which promise to deliver better products faster and with higher levels of customization than traditional approaches.
A broader perspective
Software engineers, like other members of the digital workforce, will have to conform to this new paradigm. One approach is to quit thinking like a developer or even an architect and instead concentrate on the software components that are difficult to automate. According to Harry Miller of Biz Tech Age, one method to do this is to seek ways for numerous software systems to operate together rather than perfecting single programmes or platforms. Human developers will shift away from the practice and method of development to building highly tailored solutions for a wide range of difficulties as no-code, and low-code programmes become more prevalent, with much of it likely generated by AI.
As AI improves and gains the ability to learn independently and infer from context, we can expect greater democratization of software development, with nearly anyone able to design new programmeswith no prior programming skills. Prem Natarajan, vice president of Amazon’s Alexa programme, discusses how improved neural networks and other advancements allow AI to grasp natural language. Instead of learning a lifetime’s worth of arcane commands, users will merely have to express what they want, and AI will take care of the rest. Does it seem too good to be true? This is already happening in a rudimentary form in the way people can reprogram their smart vehicles, smart houses, and other devices, and it’s only the beginning.
With AI poised to cause enormous upheaval across the digital environment, it’s only fair that coders bear the brunt of the blame. Developers must adjust to the changes they have wrought with the trust that things will turn out better in the end, just as they must in other parts of the industry.