The introduction of artificial intelligence into software development has sparked a new wave of anxiety among engineers. According to a new survey by The Adaptavist Group, most specialists see AI not as a helpful tool but as a source of stress, and are forced to demonstrate its use only to impress management.
The introduction of artificial intelligence into software development has sparked a new wave of anxiety among engineers. According to a new survey by The Adaptavist Group, most specialists see AI not as a helpful tool but as a source of stress, and are forced to demonstrate its use only to impress management.
The survey, which surveyed 1,000 developers from the US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, found a significant gap between companies' willingness to implement AI and the actual results from its use, TechRadar reports .
50% of developers admitted that they use AI tools exclusively for show - to reassure management and convince management of their "innovation".
47% of respondents indicated that their work is evaluated not by the quality of the final code, but by the frequency of use of AI.
58% of developers reported that the use of AI has already become part of their performance metrics (KPIs).
54% of respondents are worried about their long-term career prospects, and 37% directly fear being fired if they do not actively demonstrate their work with AI.
According to experts, the forced introduction of AI without taking into account existing processes creates a situation where formal indicators become more important than real productivity.
“A good developer experience is critical not only for the psychological well-being of the engineers themselves, but also for the growth and innovation of the entire organization,” says Matt Saunders, DevOps lead at The Adaptavist Group. “It cannot be undermined by adoption plans, usage metrics, or a culture that rewards the visibility of AI over its actual effectiveness. All of this creates fertile ground for employee churn—KPI after KPI.”
Saunders emphasizes that companies seeking to retain engineering talent should change their focus: evaluate not the fact of the presence of AI in the workflow, but the actual results of its work, giving developers autonomy and time to use the technology meaningfully.
