Tech Explained: Here’s a simplified explanation of the latest technology update around Tech Explained: “AI is not going to replace you:” how the technology industry is adapting to AI integration – The Simmons Voice in Simple Termsand what it means for users..
One year ago, 76% of technology professionals used artificial intelligence (AI) at their jobs, according to a study from Google. Today, that number has increased to 90%.
But for some in the industry, like Isabelle Molander, these statistics come with concerns.
Molander is part of the 90% who use AI in their jobs; however, she is worried about where AI usage is heading. She is a software engineer at Wellington Management and a Simmons alumna, and she has to debug AI-generated code with significant issues.
Since Molander graduated in 2021, she did not use AI while at college. A recent Copyleaks study found that now 90% of college students across all disciplines use AI for their studies, and Molander can tell that there is a divide in skill sets.
“They [recent graduates] need a lot of help because they’re relying on these tools, and the tools, even if they take you the 90%, you still have to get the last 10% by yourself,” said Molander. “There’s always some level of, you know, choice in it, and I get concerned when we let AI make that choice.”
However, coding is not the only implementation of AI across the technology industry. Executives like Lorraine Basset use AI to streamline their jobs.
Basset, a principal account executive at Amazon Web Services (AWS), uses AI every day at her job. She is not writing code; instead, she is selling AI capabilities to McKinsey, a consulting company. Amazon’s internal AI agent, Quick Suite, assists her with a variety of tasks, including data analysis and note-taking.
“We have to train on AI, and everybody has to position AI to their customers,” Basset said.
This is the case across the industry. François Lamy, the senior vice president for the AI Center of Excellence at PTC, oversees AI implementation globally. His team tracks employee AI usage. If someone doesn’t use it, their access is taken away and given to someone else.
“AI is not going to replace you,” Lamy said. “But someone who would do your job with AI is going to replace you.”
The distinction between the two is important: AI can be used for basic tasks, but it cannot replace actual engineers. The fundamentals of computer science are still incredibly important, but what a software engineer actually does will evolve with AI usage.
Simmons alumna Karina Bercan, a lead software engineer at Wellington Management, sees AI hit its limits every day.
“It doesn’t have a holistic view of the entire project… it’s good and fine code, but not exactly to my liking,” said Bercan. She noted, however, that it is important for people to “learn how to be a user of it” instead of complaining about AI integration.
AI is not the end of computer science, but the natural evolution, according to Margaret Menzin.
A Simmons professor in the Computing, Data, and Mathematical Sciences (CDMS) department, Menzin has watched the computer science industry change since she pitched the major at Simmons. It was one of the first in the country when it began.
“Whether it’s AI or all these other tools that led up to it… we’re not sitting at our typewriter,” said Menzin. “There’s always been change.”