Generative AI tools write code quickly, but need constant supervision and correction. They can be more harmful than helpful in the hands of junior engineers.
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Generative AI has hit the mainstream with software developers. According to a recent GitHub survey, more than one million developers actively use GitHub Copilot. More importantly, these developers increasingly use AI as “a new building block in developing applications.” In other words, AI is becoming just as important to software development as tools like Visual Studio Code.
There is, however, a catch. Not everyone benefits equally from AI. As Addy Osmani, an engineering leader with Google’s Chrome team, writes, “AI tools help experienced developers more than beginners.” I’ve talked about this before (here and here), but Osmani makes this argument so lucidly it’s worth repeating, particularly with so many developers adding AI-powered coding assistants to their development process.