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Is AI slowing down the work of experienced workers, what does research say?
Is AI slowing down the work of experienced workers, what does research say?
A new study has found that the use of AI or artificial intelligence speeds up the work of experienced software developers – contrary to the popular belief.
Is AI slowing down the work of experienced workers, what does research say?
The study found that when experienced software developers were working on a familiar codebase, using the latest AI tools did not speed up the work; rather, it delayed it. This is because the AI often gave incorrect or irrelevant suggestions, which took extra time to correct.
The US-based non-profit AI research organization METR conducted this study earlier this year. It monitored the work of a group of experienced software developers. There, they used the popular AI coding tool ‘Cursor’ to help them complete their work while working on an open source project with their familiar codebase.
Before the study, these developers thought that using AI would speed up their work, reducing their time by at least 24 percent. Even after completing the work with the help of AI, they thought that the time was reduced by 20 percent; But the study found that using AI actually increased work time by an average of 19 percent. The study’s lead authors, Joel Baker and Nate Rush, said they were surprised by the results. Rush said that before the study, he had thought that AI would double the work speed of experienced software developers. “It was kind of obvious to me,” he said.
A new study has found that the use of AI or artificial intelligence speeds up the work of experienced software developers – contrary to the popular belief.
The study found that when experienced software developers were working on a familiar codebase, using the latest AI tools did not speed up the work; rather, it delayed it. This is because the AI often gave incorrect or irrelevant suggestions, which took extra time to correct.
The US-based non-profit AI research organization METR conducted this study earlier this year. It monitored the work of a group of experienced software developers. There, they used the popular AI coding tool ‘Cursor’ to help them complete their work while working on an open source project with their familiar codebase.
Before the study, these developers thought that using AI would speed up their work, reducing their time by at least 24 percent. Even after completing the work with the help of AI, they thought that the time was reduced by 20 percent; But the study found that using AI actually increased work time by an average of 19 percent. The study’s lead authors, Joel Baker and Nate Rush, said they were surprised by the results. Rush said that before the study, he had thought that AI would double the work speed of experienced software developers. “It was kind of obvious to me,” he said.
