Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed a striking statistic during the company’s recent third-quarter 2024 earnings call: over 25 per cent of Google’s new code is now generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and subsequently reviewed by human engineers. What does this mean for software engineers and coders? It marks a fundamental shift in the coding landscape, where AI increasingly shares the workload. Before you lose your cool. It may not necessarily mean coders losing their jobs, but that AI can enable engineers to focus on higher-level problem-solving and innovation. That said, while automation boosts efficiency, it also raises questions about the future need for entry-level and routine coding jobs, pushing engineers to adapt their skills to remain competitive in an AI-driven landscape. This means, coders and software engineers may need to develop complementary skills in overseeing, refining, and guiding AI-generated code.
(The article first appeared in India Today on October 30, 2024)