Tales from the pit: AI and the software engineer

Feature Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the way software gets built, tested, and maintained — but not in the simplistic, headline-grabbing sense of "AI replacing developers."

Over the past few years, I've seen firsthand how AI is starting to change working practices. It's not a sweeping transformation, nor is it irrelevant hype – it is something more nuanced.

For some engineers, AI is quietly becoming part of the everyday engineering toolkit, showing up in code assistants, test generation tools, infrastructure management, and even project planning. In my own work, and in conversations with other engineers, I've noticed a shift. But is this for the better or for the worse?

As an experienced software engineer (I've recently crossed the half century in years), I was asked about my own experiences of using AI. Like many of you, it is beginning to make an impact in daily work and my ...