The development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology is causing changes in the software (SW) developer recruitment market. As there are projections that AI can replace not only beginner developers but also intermediate developer roles, new hiring is expected to shrink, and the restructuring of existing personnel's roles is anticipated to accelerate.
According to the industry on the 13th, Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Meta, noted during the largest podcast in the United States, "The Joe Rogan Experience," on the 11th (local time) that "by 2025, AI will be able to perform coding tasks at the level of intermediate developers within the company." He added, "Not only Meta but also other corporations doing similar work will establish systems to write code at the level of intermediate engineers through AI."
Zuckerberg emphasized that while the initial expenses of introducing AI are high, its efficiency will gradually improve over time, resulting in AI engineers taking on significant parts of code writing and maintenance, similar to human developers. He projected, "Ultimately, most of the code provided by Meta will be written by AI engineers, not human engineers."
Currently, AI is evolving to the level where it can perform complex coding tasks independently beyond simple repetitive tasks. The latest o3 model from OpenAI recorded a score of ELO 2727 in the coding competition Codeforces, achieving results on par with the top 175 human developers in the world.
Generally, intermediate developers are personnel with 2 to 5 years of practical experience and are responsible for independently designing and implementing project modules. If AI can perform the tasks of intermediate developers, there is a strong possibility that recruitment of both beginner and intermediate developers will significantly decrease, leading to the establishment of new team structures that combine advanced personnel and AI.
Global IT corporations are already changing their recruitment strategies through AI. Recently, Salesforce announced that the productivity of existing SW engineers increased by 30% after the introduction of AI and has halted new hiring. Fintech corporation Klarna has declared that it no longer requires additional human developers.
Such changes are also being detected in South Korea. The Software Policy Research Institute under the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) analyzed in a report on the 7th that "the demand for beginner developers is decreasing due to the introduction of AI, while the demand for advanced developers and AI specialists is increasing even more." It is further analyzed that as generative AI replaces simple tasks, it will require existing developers to possess higher capabilities.
Industry experts predict that in order for developers to survive in the AI era, it will become increasingly important to go beyond simple technical capabilities to effectively utilize AI tools, solve problems, collaborate within teams, and employ creative thinking.
Shin Seung-yoon, a senior researcher at the Software Policy Research Institute, stated, "With the rapid spread of AI development tools, the role of SW developers may gradually expand beyond program development to various fields," and added, "Rather than simply assessing coding abilities, there will be an increasing emphasis on problem-solving capabilities using AI tools, integrated system design abilities, and collaboration with AI."