AI slows down some experienced software developers, study finds
Source: Reuters
Contrary to popular belief, using cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools slowed down experienced software developers when they were working in codebases familiar to them, rather than supercharging their work, a new study found.
AI research nonprofit METR conducted the in-depth study, opens new tab on a group of seasoned developers earlier this year while they used Cursor, a popular AI coding assistant, to help them complete tasks in open-source projects they were familiar with.
Before the study, the open-source developers believed using AI would speed them up, estimating it would decrease task completion time by 24%. Even after completing the tasks with AI, the developers believed that they had decreased task times by 20%. But the study found that using AI did the opposite: it increased task completion time by 19%.
The study’s lead authors, Joel Becker and Nate Rush, said they were shocked by the results: prior to the study, Rush had written down that he expected “a 2x speed up, somewhat obviously.”
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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/ai-slows-down-some-experienced-software-developers-study-finds-2025-07-10/
The slowdown was due to checking and correcting AI results.
This doesn't surprise me. People who think they save a lot of time using AI typically aren't checking the results.
Reddit discussion of this: www.reddit.com/r/ExperiencedDevs/comments/1lwk503/study_experienced_devs_think_they_are_24_faster