Overview
- Business Insider’s non-scientific survey of 167 software engineers found 46.9% feel they are keeping up with AI tools, 18% feel ahead, 16% feel behind, and 17.5% say they are opting out.
- Engineers describe divergent job outlooks, with some warning over-reliance on large language models could make coders replaceable while others expect experienced developers to focus on architecture and design.
- A July METR study cited in the coverage found AI-assisted developers spent more time reviewing and prompting and were ultimately less productive than those coding without AI.
- Fast Company reports growing newsroom experimentation as non-coders use AI to create interactive pages and apps, yet most vibe-coded outputs remain one-offs that require additional developer work to become durable tools.
- Practitioners point to tool choice and governance as crucial, with platforms like Cursor, Antigravity, Claude, Lovable, and Base44 enabling faster builds but constrained by hallucinations and model variability.