Junior Software Developers' Perspectives on Adopting LLMs for Software Engineering: a Systematic Literature Review

Many studies exploring the adoption of Large Language Model-based tools for software development by junior developers have emerged in recent years. These studies have sought to understand developers' perspectives about using those tools, a fundamental pillar for successfully adopting LLM-based tools in Software Engineering. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of junior software developers' perspectives and use of LLM-based tools for software engineering (LLM4SE). We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) following guidelines by Kitchenham et al. on 56 primary studies, applying the definition for junior software developers as software developers with equal or less than five years of experience, including Computer Science/Software Engineering students. We found that the majority of the studies focused on comprehending the different aspects of integrating AI tools in SE. Only 8.9\% of the studies provide a clear definition for junior software developers, and there is no uniformity. Searching for relevant information is the most common task using LLM tools. ChatGPT was the most common LLM tool present in the studies (and experiments). A majority of the studies (83.9\%) report both positive and negative perceptions about the impact of adopting LLM tools. We also found and categorised advantages, challenges, and recommendations regarding LLM adoption. Our results indicate that developers are using LLMs not just for code generation, but also to improve their development skills. Critically, they are not just experiencing the benefits of adopting LLM tools, but they are also aware of at least a few LLM limitations, such as the generation of wrong suggestions, potential data leaking, and AI hallucination. Our findings offer implications for software engineering researchers, educators, and developers.

Navigating Fairness: Practitioners' Understanding, Challenges, and Strategies in AI/ML Development

The rise in the use of AI/ML applications across industries has sparked more discussions about the fairness of AI/ML in recent times. While prior research on the fairness of AI/ML exists, there is a lack of empirical studies focused on understanding the views and experiences of AI practitioners in developing a fair AI/ML. Understanding AI practitioners' views and experiences on the fairness of AI/ML is important because they are directly involved in its development and deployment and their insights can offer valuable real-world perspectives on the challenges associated with ensuring fairness in AI/ML. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 AI practitioners to investigate their understanding of what a 'fair AI/ML' is, the challenges they face in developing a fair AI/ML, the consequences of developing an unfair AI/ML, and the strategies they employ to ensure AI/ML fairness. We developed a framework showcasing the relationship between AI practitioners' understanding of 'fair AI/ML' and (i) their challenges in its development, (ii) the consequences of developing an unfair AI/ML, and (iii) strategies used to ensure AI/ML fairness. Additionally, we also identify areas for further investigation and offer recommendations to aid AI practitioners and AI companies in navigating fairness.

Ethics in the Age of AI: An Analysis of AI Practitioners' Awareness and Challenges

Ethics in AI has become a debated topic of public and expert discourse in recent years. But what do people who build AI - AI practitioners - have to say about their understanding of AI ethics and the challenges associated with incorporating it in the AI-based systems they develop? Understanding AI practitioners' views on AI ethics is important as they are the ones closest to the AI systems and can bring about changes and improvements. We conducted a survey aimed at understanding AI practitioners' awareness of AI ethics and their challenges in incorporating ethics. Based on 100 AI practitioners' responses, our findings indicate that majority of AI practitioners had a reasonable familiarity with the concept of AI ethics, primarily due to workplace rules and policies. Privacy protection and security was the ethical principle that majority of them were aware of. Formal education/training was considered somewhat helpful in preparing practitioners to incorporate AI ethics. The challenges that AI practitioners faced in the development of ethical AI-based systems included (i) general challenges, (ii) technology-related challenges and (iii) human-related challenges. We also identified areas needing further investigation and provided recommendations to assist AI practitioners and companies in incorporating ethics into AI development.