Vision: Redefining the Role of the Software Engineer in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

The role of software engineers is evolving rapidly with the rise of AI, similar to how AI transformed the translation profession. AI will automate repetitive software engineering tasks like coding, testing, and prototyping. Just as translators nowadays use machine translation and validate and improve their quality, software engineers will shift from writing code to managing, validating, and refining outputs from AI-driven tools. Their future focus will include quality assurance, stakeholder communication, and ethical oversight. As AI becomes more integrated into development processes and tools, human expertise will remain crucial in ensuring conformance with stakeholder needs and ethical outcomes.

Value for the audience:
From the presentation, the audience learns how the role of software engineers is being transformed by AI. They gain insight into how AI tools, like code generators and automated tests systems, are taking over routine tasks such as coding, testing, and prototyping. A new software engineering process including AI is proposed. The audience also understands the new skills required—AI literacy, ethical oversight, and enhanced communication—highlighting the need for changes in educating, employing and managing software engineers.

Problems addressed:
AI automates coding, code review, prototype design, test case specification and execution. These are tasks of a software engineer. The role of the software engineer must be redefined.

Roles, processes and competences in projects must be redefined.

These changes influence project management, employment (choose of project team members) and trainings. And also the university teaching.

Talk language: English
Level: Advanced
Target group: Software Engineers, Projektleiter/innen, HR Manager/innen, Dozent/innen

Company:
Herrmann & Ehrlich

Dr. Andrea Herrmann