Is there too much reliance on Generative AI among developers?

A survey of 885 developers conducted by Docker, Inc. finds reliance on artificial intelligence to help build applications is rapidly becoming pervasive.

Here's what the survey said -

🎯 Nearly two-thirds of respondents are using AI for coding, documentation, conducting research, writing tests and troubleshooting/ debugging. The most widely used generative AI platforms are ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and Google Gemini.

📈 Overall, 65% of the developers surveyed said they view AI positively because it simplifies processes and enables them to focus more on crucial tasks. Less than a quarter view AI as a threat to their job.

🤔 Nearly half of respondents said there is too much emphasis on AI. Nevertheless, the slight majority identified generative AI as the most important trend in software development, followed closely by AI assistants for software engineering.

Still early days when it comes to applying AI to software engineering but it’s clear there are plenty of use cases, with most of that usage currently benefitting developers. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on how DevOps teams are structured. In theory, an existing DevOps team backed by AI should be able to build, update and manage a lot more applications.

At the same time, AI may ultimately make DevOps more accessible to a wider range of organisations that previously lacked the resources required to hire and retain software engineers.

With any case of major innovation, the challenge is making sure that AI is usedresponsibly and safely anytime it's being used to generate and push out code!

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