AI in the Daily Work of a Software Developer

We spoke with Alain Kaiser about the use of AI in his work and received the following insights.

How do you use AI in your daily work?

AI is like a colleague to me. I ask questions, challenge ideas, or use it to question concepts. It acts as my pair programming partner, always available at the click of a button. Specifically, I use it for:

• Complex problems and challenges, including possible solutions
• Writing unit tests
• Documenting projects
• Creating prototypes or proofs of concept

Despite all the support AI provides, it's essential to critically evaluate and validate its responses.

Where do you see the greatest potential?

AI could carry out an initial code review, highlighting obvious issues and bugs for developers. This would allow AI to take over a significant part of the review process.

Currently, code reviews are mostly done manually after coding. AI could support this by performing a first review, which would not only improve productivity but also enhance the quality of reviews in the long run through machine learning.

Do you think AI will replace you?

AI won’t replace humans entirely, but it will take over repetitive tasks and fundamentally change all professions over time. Roles will evolve: instead of primarily writing code, developers will be able to focus on the bigger picture, dive deeper into architecture topics, and spend more time on technical requirements engineering, thanks to AI support.

How much more productive are you today compared of three years ago?

It depends on the situation, but my productivity has certainly increased. This allows me to spend more time on complex tasks while handling standard ones more efficiently. When learning new technologies, I now use AI alongside documentation and videos to get up to speed faster.