Before starting tasks, developers forecast that allowing AI will reduce completion time by 24%. After completing the study, developers estimate that allowing AI reduced completion time by 20%. Surprisingly, we find that allowing AI actually increases completion time by 19%
N = 16
N=16 developers
You’re acting like this is a gotcha when it’s actually probably the most rigorous study of AI tool productivity change to date.
The more important detail is that it’s 16 experienced developers. If there’s going to be an advantage with AI development tools, it’s going to most likely be seen with junior devs with a much wider gap between current and peak performance. This was my first thought reading the article, and it’s called out in the study.
That’s my issue with AI. I go to AI after my skills, the documentation and google failed me. Then I go to ChatGPT to get lied to, because ChatGPT doesn’t know either.
And almost without fail, AI doesn’t help me there.
The only thing where AI helps is AI autocomplete in die IDE, if I am doing something very simple and monotonous, then it helps me to sometimes reduce my typing speed a little bit compared to regular autocomplete.
But typing time is like 0.5% of the time I spend developing stuff.
Haha yes, I should have made that clear, thanks