Why developers and their bosses disagree over generative AI

There’s a stubborn disconnect between what engineering leadership thinks will make developers productive and what they actually want.

In a survey of 2,150 IT managers and developers last year, leaders listed AI as the most important technical factor in improving developer productivity and satisfaction. All while only a third of developers reported experiencing any significant AI productivity gains.

Why the gap? It’s likely that generative AI is being adopted in the wrong places. Coding assistants are primarily applied to writing code, which is precisely what developers want to spend more time doing. This tunnel-vision definition of developer productivity ignores more pressing developer frustrations.

Instead, generative AI investments should focus on the whole software development lifecycle (SDLC). And since developer happiness drives productivity, it’s crucial to gain their buy-in for any AI adoption strategy. 

Source: Why developers and their bosses disagree over generative AI – LeadDev