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Will AI Replace Software Engineering? – A Retrospective

SI-SE, the special interest group on Software Engineering of SI, together with JUG, the Java User Group Switzerland, has organized an evening event on the topic “Will AI Replace Software Engineering?” on September 19, 2024 in Zurich, attended by over 100 people.

Bertrand Meyer talking

The event was opened with a keynote by Bertrand Meyer (ETH Zurich and CIT), who talked about where software is headed. He argued that LLMs will play a role in future software engineering, but that they are unlikely to change the basic game: AI as a supporter rather than a replacement. He nicely illustrated his point with a visual metaphor of an AI hippie who would be supporting and complementing, rather than replacing the serious software engineer.


Slide by Bertrand Meyer: the serious software engineer married to the AI hippie?

 

Slide by Bertrand Meyer: the serious software engineer married to the AI hippie?

 

Dylan Beattie talking

In a second keynote, Dylan Beattie (Head of Ursatile, Inventor of Rockstar) reflected on tipping points in the history of technology, i.e., the the moments when a particular technology or idea achieved critical mass, and shared his thoughts about what that means for AI technologies. His keynote was entertaining and reflective at the same time, showing how understanding history can help us make sense of the next digital revolution.

 

Audience at SI-SE evening event on Sept 19, 2024

The keynotes were followed by a panel discussion. The panelists were Daniel Zeiter (Ergon Informatik), Patrick Schnell (schnell.digital), Dimitris Andreadis (Red Hat), and the two keynote speakers, Bertrand Meyer and Dylan Beattie. Moderated by Martin Glinz (University of Zurich and SI-SE Board Member), the panel discussed further aspects of SE vs. AI. The topics covered by the panel included whether the advent of Generative AI will mark the end of programming and make the dream of automatic programming true (it will not), how GenAI will impact the skill set of software engineers (less writing, more thinking), how we can make sure that generated code fits its application context and how we can build trust in generated software (rather difficult; one of the reasons why AI will more likely be an assistive rather than a replacing technology), how GenAi will affect software maintenance and evolution (again, much support but no replacement), and finally, the vision of software engineering in the year 2030 (software engineers will not have disappeared).

Panel at SI-SE evening event on Sept 19, 2024

Panel discussion

From left: Martin Glinz (Moderator), Dimitris Andreadis, Dylan Beattie, Bertrand Meyer, Patrick Schnell, Daniel Zeiter


Photos: Dominik Wotruba and Martin Glinz

 

The event was concluded with a networking apéro.

Logo of SI-SE evening event on “Will AI replace Software Engineering?”

SI Logo

The Swiss Informatics Society SI is the association of Informatics professionals in Switzerland.

Die Schweizer Informatik Gesellschaft SI ist der Verband der Informatikfachleute in der Schweiz.

La Société Suisse d’Informatique SI est l’association des professionnels de l’informatique en Suisse.

La Società Svizzera di Informatica SI è l’associazione dei professionisti dell’informatica in Svizzera.