Half of Developers Use AI Just to Look Like They Use AI
An Adaptavist survey of 1,000 developers found 50% use AI performatively, while 58% say AI use now counts toward their performance metrics.
Half of 1,000 surveyed software developers said they use AI only to demonstrate that they can use it, according to survey results published by Adaptavist, part of The Adaptavist Group.
The survey covered developers in the UK, US, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Among them, 47% said they were judged on how much they use AI rather than on the quality of their work, and 58% said AI use is becoming a performance metric or has been added to their KPIs.
The pressure appears to carry career consequences in developers' own assessment: 54% said they were worried about their long-term prospects, and 37% feared losing their jobs if they do not use AI.
Matt Saunders, DevOps Lead at The Adaptavist Group, is named in the survey findings.
Quick answers
How many developers were surveyed about AI use at work?
Adaptavist surveyed 1,000 software developers across the UK, US, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.
What share of developers use AI just to show they can?
50% of those surveyed said they use AI only to demonstrate that they can use it.
Do developers worry about losing their jobs over AI?
37% said they feared losing their jobs if they don't use AI, and 54% reported being worried about their long-term prospects.