Why we need human developers
Why human developers are crucial for software projects
This week we are probing the secondary impacts of the age of AI. What it means for skilled human practitioners, and the infrastructure needed to support AI projects.
Vibe coding is the next evolutionary step in the way generative AI is impacting coding and the software development lifecycle. AI-assisted development lets a developer or less technical builder develop full-stack applications using an iterative series of AI prompts to establish and then improve the application’s design.
This week InfoWorld had tech leaders weigh in on vibe coding: What it is, what it’s not, and how to use it safely in production software.
The idea of AI-assisted work is somewhat controversial for humans. Readers of InfoWorld wanted to know where people remain critical. Smart Answers parsed our decades of human reporting to investigate.
The verdict?
Human developers are crucial for critical software projects because AI, while capable of generating code, lacks understanding and is prone to hallucinations. Human engineers are essential for validating, testing, and monitoring AI-generated outputs to prevent errors and ensure reliability, especially in high-stakes environments in which software controls critical systems.
Developers also provide the necessary organizational context that AI systems lack, which is vital for effective and efficient project development.
Find out: Why are human developers still crucial for critical software projects?
How layoffs are funding AI projects
That’s reassuring. But we live in a time of skills gaps and large scale unemployment of technology professionals. AI is having an impact. This week we learnt that product changes are likely as Oracle plans an estimated 10,000 more layoffs by the end of the year.
Why is this happening? Readers of CIO.com have their suspicions and asked Smart Answers to confirm that this is a cost-saving exercise intended to support investment in AI.
The answer is equivocal: Smart Answers says Oracle’s recent layoffs could be interpreted as an effort to fund its significant investments in artificial intelligence projects. And that some analysts suggest that the development of agentic AI could enable these layoffs by allowing customers to customize applications, potentially reducing the need for Oracle’s workforce in app expansion.
Find out: Why are Oracle’s recent layoffs funding AI projects?
Why AI data centers are so expensive
Less equivocal is the impact of AI on the cost of infrastructure. This week Network World reported that Oracle is to spend $40B on Nvidia chips for an OpenAI data center in Texas. The move signals OpenAI’s break from Microsoft exclusivity, as showcases how enterprise AI infrastructure costs are surging to unprecedented levels.
Readers wanted to understand why that is. Smart Answers says it is the high price of specialized hardware, such as GPUs and ultra-high-speed networking components, combined with the additional power draw needed to run it. This in turn impacts the costs of cooling.
Find out What makes AI data centers expensive?
About Smart Answers
Smart Answers is an AI-based chatbot tool designed to help you discover content, answer questions, and go deep on the topics that matter to you. Each week we send you the three most popular questions asked by our readers, and the answers Smart Answers provides.
Developed in partnership with Miso.ai, Smart Answers draws only on editorial content from our network of trusted media brands—CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World—and was trained on questions that a savvy enterprise IT audience would ask. The result is a fast, efficient way for you to get more value from our content. Why we need human developers – ComputerworldRead More