6 Ways AI will Impact Software Development in 2019

The development world wants to know about what AI can do in software development (SD) in 2019, and thought you would most certainly want to know!

Let’s start with a quick flashback of what happened when AI met SD:

AI (Artificial Intelligence) as we know it, is a science that is employed in creating machines that can aid us in ways unfathomable. It focuses hugely on logic and reasoning, problem-solving, language recognition, and perception.

As for Software Development, it’s an art of creating a program that is able to perform a set of tasks, following a standardized process. This is done to lift the burden of having to do it ourselves, off our shoulders!

When AI met Software development, just like in every other area, the impact was large. Machine learning was employed to serve as a catalyst to accelerate the software development lifecycle that was being followed over years.

Here’s where we’ll see a dramatic difference:

1. AI IN TESTING AND CODING

With developers and testers employing the tools enhanced by machine learning, we’ll witness bots being employed to identify bugs. To add on, there will be tools with AI incorporated that’ll aid the testers and help them locate any errors there could be in the software.

Once they are identified, AI will also assist in mechanically fixing the software. This leads to the creation of a software with an improved quality and high efficiency.

Because of this, it is possible to analyze the codes in the future based on the data available and automatically flag it as an error without the intervention by a human.

AI will not just assist in testing and coding, but it’ll also guide the testers and developers in the right direction.

This is possible by inducing bugs into the software and analyze how the bot works its way back. This learning prevents the developers from making similar errors in the future.

This growth is the most important since it helps develop an entire community.

2. AI IN BUILDING EFFICIENT APPS

With the AI, the doors open for personalizing.

Employing machine learning, it is possible to analyze the huge datasets available from the past and employ them in providing a similar group of clients a more personalized product.

With AI, the quality of the application in areas like images or videos, audio or speech, and text are likely to be employed into the code in a better way as compared to us humans.

The most important aspect of coding while working as a team is to be develop a clean code. Sometimes, we tend to leave way too many comments than required, over a line of code. This leads to confusion and is difficult to understand. With AI, we can afford to do that.

Machine learning is used to analyze code optimize it for easy interpretation and better performance.

This way, we will be able to offer customized services based on the client’s interest.

3. AI IN CYBERSECURITY

With AI and the cutting-edge technology serving hand in hand, this area of cyber security will see a better performance rate. AI can be employed to identify the possible attackers or hackers by tracking their activities under the radar, even before they launch an attack.

Vice-versa, if the bots are misinformed or input on purpose a set of malicious set of data to an AI service, it is more likely to pose a huge threat to cyber security itself. There can be corruption of our AI by simply altering the algorithms on one of the intelligent personal assistants.

At the end of the day, they are still machines and how they function depends solely on how you want them to function and what is being fed.

4. AI AND FASTER DELIVERY OF PRODUCTS/SERVICES

Taking logic into consideration, it is well known that when you receive specifications and a list of requirements, it consumes a lot of time to convert them into potential working applications/software. AI steps in and helps reduce the time taken, by aiding experts who are less technical, to code/develop through natural language or pictorial interfaces.

In addition to it, before discussing the deadline for the delivery of the products, it is important to estimate the exact time and resources necessary to complete the project.

As we know, to be able to exactly forecast the time required, a lot of expertise is required, along with a proper understanding of the context. At the most, we’ll be able to fetch the files from the past and run through it to get an idea. However, it would not be accurate. Machine learning makes use of the data available from the past to quote a more accurate budget and the date of delivery.

5. AI AND BRAINSTORMING

Before, during, and even after developing a certain software, there are numerous meetings and brainstorming sessions to discuss alternatives, the pros and cons. Some would feature A is of priority, while some would feel feature D is. It is also important to note that, some of the decisions we humans make are sometimes based on emotions more than they are on logical reasoning. AI cuts short the time put into decision making since it is quickly able to analyze the business factors and development projects from the past. It then compares it with the existing scenario and is able to come up with solutions in an instant, based on pure logic. This helps pick features and prioritize them accordingly.

6. AI IN MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

Be it Alexa, or Siri; be it face-recognition, or finger-print encryption, we know these are possible only because of AI. Apart from that, AI and Machine Learning have gone a long way in mobile technology. With this, we are able to translate languages in real time, collection of real time data followed by processing, enhancing search engines by adding features like image recognition, voice recognition etc.

On the camera front, it is also possible to tweak pictures clicked, in real time, identify facial features, and detect subjects like landscapes or fireworks.

Security has been increased by multiple folds due to features like face unlock for smartphones, and other biometrics.

Outside software development, while taking AI as a whole, experts are looking to achieve the following milestones in 2019:

  1. Autonomous transportation – You read it right! Transportation without a driver. A human* driver.
  2. An education system powered by AI – This will allow us to gather individual student data, in addition to providing personalized tutoring.
  3. AI in healthcare – We will be looking at an AI automating medical diagnostics with the help of the patient history and traditional study materials from the past years.
  4. Home Robots – You read it right, again. Bots that will help with cleaning, or packing or interact with other human beings.

Considering how AI has served in the past, and by carefully studying its scope, it has been understood that AI will have a huger impact on software development, in 2019.

Atman Rathod is working as the Business Director at CMARIX TechnoLabs, a leading web and mobile app development company with 13+ years of experience. He loves to write about technology, startups, entrepreneurship and business. His creative abilities, academic track record and leadership skills made him one of the key industry influencers as well.