NESSI has published a paper in which we discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI-Assisted Software Engineering, which is the use of AI and machine learning to support or automate software engineering tasks. Generative AI, large language models (LLMs) and AI chatbots have the potential to radically transform software engineering, delivering potential benefits such as higher productivity and quality. AI-Assisted Software Engineering has the potential to change the software profession more than any other recent technology. However, it also poses significant technical and non-technical challenges.
We recommend key research and innovation directions, which clearly demonstrate that AI-Assisted Software Engineering is more than just assisting programmers in generating code, and will have a profound impact on the whole software development lifecycle, from requirements engineering to operations and maintenance.