How AI Will Affect Software Development Trends in 2022
Most people think of Artificial Intelligence, films such as The Terminator or Ex Machina are often the first thing that comes to mind. While there are plenty of AI developers focused on creating AI that replicates the human mind, the practical purposes of AI are far more wide-ranging than replicating human intelligence.
Today, AI is used across a broad range of industries to perform an equally broad range of tasks. Data analysis, language translation, cybersecurity, and logistics planning are just a few such tasks that AI has come to play a prominent role in completing.
AI’s Effect on Development Trends
Automatic Code Generation
Manually writing the code for a new application can be an incredibly difficult and time-consuming process. AI, however, works to make the code writing process far less time-consuming and costly through automatic code generation. While automatic code generation is still in its relative infancy, software developers are beyond encouraged by the benefits that it promises. By utilizing language processing software, automatic code generation tools that are powered by AI are able to take natural language commands and convert them into code. In other words, these tools allow developers to explain in English.
Bug and Error Identification
While not quite as time-consuming as writing the code in the first place, identifying and fixing the bugs in an application can still be quite a headache for software developers. AI software solutions, though, can allow developers to automatically detect the bugs and errors in an application. In addition to detecting the bugs that are keeping the application from functioning correctly, many of these tools are also able to automatically correct the problem without requiring any intervention on behalf of the developer.
Improved Data Security
With the frequency of cybercrime and data breaches continuing to rise exponentially, data security is a serious concern for software developers heading into 2022. Thankfully, AI technologies are now enabling developers to create applications that are more secure than ever before. With the right AI integrations, developers are able to create applications that utilize machine learning in order to automatically detect irregularities that could present a security concern for the data that is stored on the application.
More Accurate Project Estimates
Anytime a company decides to develop a new software solution, it is essential for them to carefully consider how much time and money it will cost to create. With that said, estimating the cost and timeline of a new development project is often easier said than done, and even an experienced software development team may sometimes struggle to provide an accurate estimate.
Improved Testing Services
Once the development of a new application is complete, it is vital for developers to thoroughly test it across a variety of different cases to ensure its quality. Since this testing process needs to be repeated every time the application’s source code is changed, the process of testing and quality control in application development can quickly become quite time-consuming.
AI testing tools work to automate the testing process by automatically creating a broad range of test cases and performing regression testing. By automatically testing every aspect of an application’s performance and quality, these tools are able to dramatically reduce how much time it takes to ensure the quality of a new application. In addition to improving the efficiency of this process, AI is also able to help improve the quality of testing as well, helping eliminate bugs and errors that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Connecting Developers with User Feedback
When designing or updating a software application, it is essential for software engineers to carefully consider feedback from the application’s end users. However, collecting and analyzing data from an application’s users is often easier said than done.
AI tools that are complete with machine learning algorithms will allow an application to learn how its users behave before recommending improvements based on the user data that it collects. By connecting developers with real-time data from an app’s end users,
Will AI Replace Software Developers?
Given all of the ways in which AI technologies are currently able to streamline the software development process, it is fair to wonder whether AI may someday soon replace software developers entirely. This is certainly not a concern that is unique to the software development field, with professionals in almost every field forced to consider if they might someday be replaced by machines.
While we wouldn’t go as far as to say that AI will never reach the point that it is able to replace software developers entirely rather than replacing the role of software developers, our current AI software development tools exist to empower developers to make more informed decisions and streamline otherwise time-consuming processes. With that said, AI in software development is something that should be embraced by developers and end-users alike and is certainly not something to be feared.