RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Prithika Mohanraj
Intern/Mentor G/T
2023-2024
Mr. Bilal Khan - TSoftek (Software Development Company)

Title: Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering/Development: The Relationship

Introduction and Overview of Research:

AI is built on a foundation of codes and programs which are made by software
engineers/developers, a few of the many people that help enhance AI for society. However, to understand
the future of AI and its impact on society, it's important to look at how AI impacts those who provide its
foundations as they have the ability to shape the future of AI and AI’s impact by influencing the code and
programs which AI is built upon. This research takes a look at exactly that, where the relationship
between AI and software development/engineering is concluded through a correlational research design
using systematic review analyzing many studies about the impacts of AI on software engineering and
development. At the end of this research, the hope is to create an informative and motivational video for
software engineers, developers, and software companies to use AI in their lives to enhance their lives, job,
and company as it has been found that there is a positive and helpful relationship between AI and software
development/engineering by boosting developer productivity, aiding in bug detection, and optimizing a
company.

Background and Rationale:

Artificial Intelligence is a growing field in today’s technology-centered society. As our society
continuously uses advanced technology such as iPhone’s, VR, etc., Artificial Intelligence plays a key role
in enhancing these products/services. Artificial Intelligence is defined as “the capability of computer
systems or algorithms to imitate intelligent human behavior” (Merriam-Webster). Artificial Intelligence
sprung from the 1950s (Tableau). In 1950, Alan Turning, most famous for introducing AI, published his
book “Computer Machinery and Intelligence” in which he introduced the idea of computer AI to the
public (Tableau). From there, AI began to increase in popularity as more programmers built self-sufficient
codes and AI models on computers such as the checkers game built by Arthur Samuel (Tableau).
Throughout the 60s and 70s, more AI technologies and programs were developed and its popularity grew
(Tableau). After taking a huge hit where AI was funded less and the AI market collapsed, so called the
“AI winter” during 1987-1993, AI came back in full speed with new “AI Agents” and “Artificial General
Intelligence” (Tableau). These agents are essentially new technologies and this general intelligence is AI
technology we now know today such as AI for marketing assistance in big companies such as Twitter and
Netflix, Siri, ChatGPT, etc. (Tableau). Today, AI is more involved in daily life than ever before. Overall,
AI had a rapid and intense development over the course of the last couple decades and the growth is only
going to continue.
Regardless, one of the core facets that make AI work in the first place is its program. Behind the
scenes of AI, there is a lot of code that goes into making AI perform human tasks such as speech
recognition, summarizing information, etc. ("The Ultimate Guide,"). Meaning, AI is fundamentally and
entirely based on code. The code acts as a set of instructions that these AI systems can read, follow, and

1
execute to perform the way they do. Without this set of code, these AI systems would just be stationary
tools that would have on purpose other than to occupy space. Specialized in coding/programming,
software developers and engineers build code that AI-powered devices can read, follow and execute
(IBM). This code serves as the foundation of AI because with this crucial foundation, AI systems and
physical AI technologies function the way they do. Essentially, software developers and engineers help
build and provide the foundation of AI through coding its tasks. With this said, it’s important to look at
how AI gives back to software developers and engineers. Meaning, looking at how AI impacts the
software engineers and developers who code for it in the first place. That’s why this research takes a look
at aspects of the relationship between AI and software engineering/development to see what AI does for
those who provide its foundations.

The issue highlighted in this research is important because as AI is becoming more prevalent and
integrated within society than ever, it’s important to address AI to see the implications it has on society as
time evolves. One way to see the implications it has for society, in terms of negative or positive impacts,
is to look at how AI impacts those who provide its foundations. It's important to look at how AI impacts
those who built it because the impact AI has on them can tell people about the future of AI since the
impact AI has on those who built its foundations (software engineers/developers) impacts the future of AI
itself if its foundations are altered. To put this into perspective, in case of a negative/harmful impact on
software engineering/development, it can be deduced that AI could overall have a negative impact on
society. This is because, with the negative impact it has on those who provide its foundations, these
software engineers and developers can not do their job better and benefit society by providing it with
better AI programs and technologies. This means there is a negative impact on society if it can not receive
life-enhancing products from these software developers and engineers. However, in the case of a positive
impact on software engineering/development, it can be deduced that the future of AI and AI-powered
technology can grow and provide great benefits to society. This is because, with the benefits of AI that
these software developers and engineers reap, they can use these benefits to better do their job and
provide higher quality products, AI technologies, etc. for society to consume and benefit from. In
conclusion, this research paper can provide a worthwhile contribution to society sharing how the future of
our society may be impacted by AI as AI impacts those who provide its foundations.

Research Methodology:
Research Question:
What is the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and different aspects of software
engineering/software development?

Research Hypothesis:
Artificial Intelligence is helpful for software engineering as shown in boosting productivity of software
engineers/developers, aiding in bug-detection, and optimizing a software engineering/development
company.

2
 Through the research process, it has been found that AI has a positive relationship on software
engineering/development through helping. Generally, three main claims have been found to support this
relationship. So far, it's found that AI can boost the productivity of software engineers/developers by
taking care of simple and repetitive tasks which allows software engineers and developers to be more
productive since they can now focus on more important tasks that AI systems can not easily do (such as
building highly personalized, custom programs for their customers)(Gee, 2023; “Generative AI,” 2023;
Barenkamp et al., 2020; Stavridis et al., 2023; B. Khan, personal communication, December 29, 2023).
Additionally, it's found that AI systems can aid in bug detection. Through the investigation of specific
tools that are proof of aiding in bug detection, it's clear that AI systems can help detect bugs through
analyzing patterns and various programs fed as data to these AI systems and detecting similar bugs (to the
data these AI systems have analyzed) based on these patterns (Haddad, 2023; Shtechman; CodePal; B.
Khan, personal communication, December 29, 2023). Lastly, AI can help optimize a company’s task by
taking over simple tasks as well as enhancing existing tasks. AI systems can optimize a company's tasks
since it can take over low-priority, simple, repetitive tasks which can allow a company to prioritize higher
needs such as addressing customer needs, promoting their products, etc (Flatiron Software Co., 2023;
Skrygan, 2023; Rootstack, 2023; B. Khan, personal communication, December 29, 2023). AI can also
optimize marketing as it can analyze data and produce marketing ideas for the companies to utilize and
enhance their business (Skrygan, 2023; B. Khan, personal communication, December 29, 2023).

Research Design Model:

This is a qualitative research study focused on finding the relationship between two variables.
These variables are Artificial Intelligence (“the capability of computer systems or algorithms to imitate
intelligent human behavior” (Merriam-Webster)) and software engineering/development (software
engineering: Synonym for software development; "a branch of computer science that deals with the
design, implementation, and maintenance of complex computer programs” (Merriam-Webster), software
development: Synonym for software engineering; “ a set of computer science activities dedicated to the
process of creating, designing, deploying and supporting software.” (IBM)). The design model this
research paper follows is a correlational study model. Since this research looks at the relationship between
the two variables of AI and Software Engineering/Development, a correlational research design is the best
fit because a correlational research design looks at the relationship between two variables to make future
predictions. This research does exactly that since the research focuses on the relationship between AI and
software engineering/development to make future predictions on the implications AI has on society based
on this relationship.

Data Collection:
For this research project, a data collection of systematic review will be conducted. A systematic
review involves gathering multiple similar studies to analyze, find relationships/conclusions, and produce
a further conclusion based on the studies gathered. This works well for this research because as this
research aims to find a relationship between AI and software engineering/development, by using
systematic review, this research paper can highlight the analysis of the many studies reviewing the
impacts that AI has on software engineering/development and conclude a relationship between the two

3
based on this systematic review. This research paper will contain data collected from various databases
such as Gale, Google Scholar, and relevant and credible online web pages with sufficient information or
personal experiences.

This research paper creates original information as it will highlight the relationship between AI
and software engineering/development rather than just focusing on the impacts AI has on software
development/engineering. Many studies online already contain the impacts that AI has on software
development/engineering but none has been found that examine the relationship between them. Therefore,
by using a systematic review of existing studies regarding the impacts of AI on software
development/engineering, this research paper will provide new information and a further conclusion about
the relationship between the two.

Product and Audience:

The anticipated final product for this research will be a quick informational and motivational video
that will be shared with software engineers and developers. As this research covers how AI benefits
software engineers/developers, making a quick video for software engineers/developers to watch and for
them to be motivated to use AI in their lives after seeing how beneficial it can be in the video is the best
final product option as it is practical and useful to the relevant target audience. Since some software
engineers don't utilize AI in their lives, hopefully the video can motivate them to use it to make their lives
easier and enhance their job with the research the video provides. A quick video is a good option because
software engineers can easily access a quick video to watch in their busy lives. Software
engineers/developers have very bustling lives so a quick video can be easily accessed, watched, and acted
upon instead of something that involves extensive reading, writing, full and prolonged engagement, etc.

References

Barenkamp, M., Rebstadt, J., & Thomas, O. (2020). Applications of AI in classical software engineering.

AI Perspectives, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42467-020-00005-4

CodePal. Bug detection.

https://codepal.ai/bug-detector#qna_how_can_ai_be_used_to_detect_software_bugs

Flatiron Software Co. (2023, August 14). What is the role of Artificial Intelligence in business software

development? LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-role-artificial-intelligence-business-software-development/

Gee, T. (2023, July 24). How AI will impact the developer experience.

https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsTy

4
 pe=SingleTab&retrievalId=16200206-886c-4a2b-9928-1990ec2f0b6c&hitCount=8&searchType=

AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=4&docId=GALE%7CA758258593&docType=Article&s

ort=Re.

Generative AI speeds up software development: Compass UOL study. (2023, March 29). PR Newswire

Association LLC.

https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&u=hcpub_hebron&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA743464216

&retrievalId=da142845-009d-4aa4-b4b1-4f3ae9c99523&inPS=true&linkSource=interlink&sid=b

ookmark-GPS

Haddad, M. (2023, March 29). How AI can detect software bugs and root cause analysis.

https://blog.railtown.ai/blog-posts/how-ai-can-detect-software-bugs-and-root-cause-analysis

IBM. What is software development? https://www.ibm.com/topics/software-development

Khan, B. (2023, December 29). Personal Interview.

Patil, R.V. (2023, July 19). From code generation to bug detection: The role of AI tools in software.

https://medium.com/@rushi11081/from-code-generation-to-bug-detection-the-role-of-ai-tools-in-s

oftware-fbdebbfd7007

Rootstack. (2023, June 12). How software development companies are managing the changes in the AI

era. https://rootstack.com/en/blog/software-development-companies-ai

Shtechman, I. (May 6). Enhancing code quality with AI: The power of bug detection.

https://medium.com/aimonks/enhancing-code-quality-with-ai-the-power-of-bug-detection-ea

734c63afa9

Skrygan, K. (2023, October 2). What does generative AI mean for software companies? Retrieved from

https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsTy

pe=SingleTab&retrievalId=4ff314ab-762a-483d-9e2f-ca1ae140ba14&hitCount=8113&searchType

=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=2&docId=GALE%7CA767399608&docType=Article&sort=

5
 Relevance&contentSegment=ZGPP-MOD1&prodId=GPS&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7C

A767399608&searchId=R7&userGroupName=hcpub_hebron&inPS=true

Stavridis, A., Drugge, A. (2023). The rise of intelligent system development. A qualitative study of

developers’ views on AI in software development.

https://umu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1759153/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Tableau. What is the history of artificial intelligence (AI)?

https://www.tableau.com/data-insights/ai/history#:~:text=Birth%20of%20AI%3A%201950%2D1

956&text=into%20popular%20use.-,Dates%20of%20note%3A,ever%20learn%20the%20game%2

0independently

The ultimate guide to Artificial Intelligence (AI): Definition, how it works, examples, history, & more.

Tableau.

https://www.tableau.com/data-insights/ai/what-is#how-it-works