The Future of AI-Driven Software Engineering

TL;DR

This paper discusses the transformative impact of AI, especially large language models, on software engineering, emphasizing the need for research to address integration challenges and envision a future collaborative development environment.

Contribution

It presents a vision for AI-driven software engineering and highlights key research challenges for integrating AI into the software development process.

Findings

AI systems are increasingly enhancing software development productivity.

A growing partnership between humans and AI in software engineering is expected.

Research must focus on addressing key integration challenges.

Abstract

A paradigm shift is underway in Software Engineering, with AI systems such as LLMs playing an increasingly important role in boosting software development productivity. This trend is anticipated to persist. In the next years, we expect a growing symbiotic partnership between human software developers and AI. The Software Engineering research community cannot afford to overlook this trend; we must address the key research challenges posed by the integration of AI into the software development process. In this paper, we present our vision of the future of software development in an AI-driven world and explore the key challenges that our research community should address to realize this vision.