The rise of generative AI is one of the most significant developments in recent history. It's already impacting the lives of professionals across industries.
Many teams are trying to integrate this game-changing technology into their workflow, and software development teams are no exception. One of many areas of development that could be automated is the peer code review process.
What is peer code review?
Peer code review allows code to be examined by a developer other than the original author. Allowing developers other than the original developer to review software code reduces the risk of security vulnerabilities, bugs, issues, and missing requirements. This is done using peer code review software
How will generative AI impact peer code review?
Development teams are already seeing the impact of AI on the coding process. AI is taking many new roles across development, even going as far as creating its own code with AI code generation software.
This leads to many interesting questions about the future of peer code review. If AI generates its own code, do we still need peer code review? Can development teams just rely on software to review this code, or do human eyes still have a place in this process?
AI is a common keyword across G2 reviews
When observing the reviews on the G2 category page for peer code review products, it quickly becomes apparent that AI and automation are noteworthy themes.
Many reviewers directly list AI as one of the key benefits they appreciate in peer code review products. Many reviews directly or indirectly cite automation, with one going as far as saying they love to “automate everything.”
That said, it is also clear that not everything can be automated, and many reviews acknowledged that. Even the reviewer who wanted to “automate everything” recognizes that there are “key parts” that a human needs to review as well.
The future of peer code review with AI
While there’s no doubt that AI will continue to make itself known in code review, there is still a role for human developers.
People still lead the charge when it comes to decision making, designing, and refining the details of software and applications. They are also essential when it comes to user feedback, as it takes empathy and patience to make development decisions that strengthen the overall user experience.
While there will always be concerns about job security and AI, most of the benefits AI brings to development are more likely to help developers than anything. Automation should be focused on aiding developers rather than removing people from the equation.
Peer code review is just one example of a tedious aspect of coding being replaced by artificial intelligence. Human developers will still be needed for application design, user experience improvements, and more.
A peer code review software that incorporates automation can take over the tedious work of developers. This frees them up to work on more complex challenges requiring human interaction, such as incorporating user feedback, making design decisions, and refining software.
G2 analyst Adam Crivello predicts the formal adoption of AI amongst software developers.
Edited by Jigmee Bhutia
by Gabriel Gheorghiu
by Tian Lin
by Adam Crivello
