Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Software Development, A Qualitative Study on Developers’ Views

Abstract: The sustained continued rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionised various sectors, including software development. This qualitative study employs a thematic analysis approach to investigate the views of individuals participating professionally and personally in software development, focusing on the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in the field. The research methodology adopts an inductive and iterative methodology. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews conducted in a variety of ways with a concentrated sample of respondents, all of whom understand topics related to software development and more generally, AI. As this study examines the current reaction towards the adoption of AI from software developers, it concludes that the interviewees most notably view AI adoption with varying levels of confidence, low introspected self-reported understanding, a sense of empowerment, conscious for workforce ramifications and ethical wariness. The literature befits the observations made in this paper as they both corroborate and contrast each other.