Developers’ Dilemma: Opportunities and Pitfalls of Generative AI for Software Development

Developers’ Dilemma: Opportunities and Pitfalls of Generative AI for Software Development

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has attracted worldwide attention in various sectors, especially in the field of software development. The successful integration of GAI requires an understanding of how practitioners perceive opportunities and risks of these technologies, as well as their impact on individuals, team interactions, and organizational structures. Against this background, we conducted 21 expert interviews to investigate perceptions of software developers regarding the integration of GAI in their workflow. Our results reveal that GAI may improve productivity on the individual and organizational level and foster creative thinking processes. However, we also raise concerns about over-reliance and, consequently, skill degradation among developers. Furthermore, GAI can deliver valuable information quickly, which can in turn reduce overall interactions between software developers and, thus, negatively affect interpersonal relationships and team cohesion. These findings contribute to information systems theory on GAI's effect on social capital acccummulation, reflective thinking, and software developers' professional identity and provide practical implications for effectively deploying GAI in software development workflows.