Many studies and tools focus on increasing the productivity of developers. However, creativity is also an important factor for success.
Researchers from universities in the U.S., Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada, and Brazil have created a research agenda to study how generative AI could affect creativity in software development. This includes how it impacts product quality and developer motivation.
Many programmers are already using generative AI for coding, through tools like Github Copilot. It helps generate ideas, provides inspiration from other fields, and can even suggest features and designs on its own. This could free up developers' time for more creative tasks.
But there are risks to using AI. Developers may rely too much on the suggestions and stop questioning their own ideas. Specialized skills and knowledge could also decline as AI takes over more and more tasks. Eventually, this could lead to more repetitive products.
To study these potentially varied effects, the researchers propose a plan with six topics:
1. Individual skills: Does AI really make individual developers more creative? For which tasks, and how long do the effects last?
2. Team skills: How does using AI affect creativity in teams? How do people react when AI leads brainstorming sessions?
3. The product: Does AI-supported development create more innovative products with a better user experience? Or is there a risk things will become too similar?
4. Unintended results: What negative effects could there be, like losing skills and less mentoring?
5. Social impact: How does AI-driven software development change the job and how software is seen?
6. Human aspects: Do developers feel valued or devalued by AI? Do they actively take part or do they try to break AI systems?
According to the researchers, these issues should be addressed early and from multiple perspectives. Only then can the opportunities be fully realized and the risks mitigated. The goal should be a responsible use of generative AI in software development that supports creativity and new ideas without devaluing human skills.
