Software development is changing fast right now, and so is the relationship between AI and the people who build software. Tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT help us get routine work done sooner by suggesting lines of code and spotting patterns. AI takes over the tedious tasks and frees up time for more complex projects. In fall 2024, Google announced that more than a quarter of its new code is generated by AI. So what does that mean for the role of people in software development? My answer is a focus on people: humans remain the decision-makers. And anyone who invests in AI tools has to invest in their people too.
Humans Remain the Decision-Makers
AI can make many technical tasks more efficient, but that pushes a lot of important work back onto us: decisions, ethical questions, usability, alignment with the vision, quality control and so on. There’s more. AI gives us a solution that works. But is it sustainable? Does it fit our company’s values? For now, only we can answer those questions.
Focus on People, Not Just Technology
Companies that want to succeed in the long run need to understand that even the best AI tools only add real value in the hands of qualified, healthy (!) and motivated people. Anyone who invests only in the latest technology and forgets to develop their staff will fall behind over time. The skills in demand today are different from those of the past: agile working, creativity, decisiveness and ethical awareness matter more than ever.
“Anyone who invests in AI must also invest in people!”
(Richard Seidl)
Then there are topics like stress resilience and focused work. When agility turns into stress (which I keep seeing in some Scrum implementations, sadly), the whole system works worse than before.
Humans and AI: Teamwork in Software Development
AI can support us in many tasks, suggest new approaches and recognize certain problem patterns on its own. But we are and will remain the designers and decision-makers. The future of software development won’t be a one-way street toward automation. It will be an interplay of technology and people, with individual responsibility and foresight still at the center.
