Prof Margaret-Ann Storey - AI and the Future of Software Development: Learning from Industry, Research, and Human-Centered Theories |
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| Abstract: The latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovations are reshaping the developer experience—not only in how code is written but also in how developers comprehend complex systems, create innovative solutions, collaborate with peers, and engage in communities of practice. In this keynote, I will explore what we can learn from AI’s adoption in industry and early research while drawing on human and social theories to help shape AI’s role in software development. By examining real-world experience reports and early research, I will discuss how emerging trends reveal both exciting possibilities and new challenges. AI has the potential to accelerate problem-solving, streamline coding, and expand access to knowledge, yet it also raises concerns about over-reliance, shifts in creativity, and changes in team dynamics. Beyond these immediate impacts, we must take a deeper look—leveraging insights from cognitive science, human-computer interaction, and social learning theories to understand AI’s broader implications. By integrating perspectives from industry practice, academic research, and human-centered theories, this talk will offer a critical lens on AI’s evolving role in software engineering. More importantly, it will challenge us—not just to consider where AI is taking us, but to actively shape its design in ways that enhance human intelligence, creativity, and collaboration in software development. | |
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Margaret-Anne Storey is a Professor of Computer Science and a Canada Research Chair in Human and Social Aspects of Software Engineering. Together with her students and collaborators, she seeks to understand how software tools, communication media, data visualizations, and social theories can be leveraged to improve how software engineers and knowledge workers explore, understand, analyze and share complex information and knowledge. She has published widely on these topics and collaborates extensively with high-tech companies and non-profit organizations to ensure real-world applicability of her research contributions and tools. Dr. Storey currently advises companies that include Microsoft and DX on strategies to understand and improve developer productivity and developer experience. |
Prof Alexander Serebrenik - SDDI: Between AI and Comply |
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| Abstract: Software Development Diversity and Inclusion (SDDI) initiatives are under fire. AI— a technological innovation that has disrupted many aspects of our lives, including software development— holds immense potential to shape the field in both positive and negative ways. It can foster a more welcoming and inclusive software development environment, or it can contribute to an exclusionary dystopia marked by suffering and discrimination. At the same time, we are witnessing increasing pushback against discussions of diversity, equity, and inclusion, culminating in recent executive orders from the President of the United States. As researchers in the field of SDDI, we must reflect on our role. How can we contribute to industrial practice and higher education to steer the future toward inclusivity and away from undesirable scenarios? This question becomes even more urgent as public discourse around DEI concerns and interventions is increasingly suppressed. | |
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Dr. D. Alexander Serebrenik is a Full Professor of Social Software Engineering at the Software Engineering and Technology cluster of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Alexander’s research goal is to facilitate evolution of software by taking into account social aspects of software development. His work tends to involve theories and methods both from within computer science (e.g., theory of socio-technical coordination; methods from natural language processing, machine learning) and from outside of computer science (e.g., organisational psychology). The underlying idea of his work is that of empiricism, i.e., that addressing software engineering challenges should be grounded in observation and experimentation, and requires a combination of the social and the technical perspectives. Alexander has co-authored a book “Evolving Software Systems” (Springer Verlag, 2014), and more than 100 scientific papers and articles. He is actively involved in organisation of scientific conferences as member and chair of steering committees, general chair, program committee chair, track chair and program committee member. He has won multiple best paper and distinguished reviewer awards, and is member of the editorial board of several journals. Alexander is a senior member of IEEE and a member of ACM. |