Impact of AI on the Software Industry

Determine the effects of artificial intelligence (AI), including large language models such as ChatGPT, Mistral, and Perplexity, on the software industry to ascertain how AI will change software development practices, structures, and outcomes.

Background

The paper extends economic complexity analysis to the digital sector using open-source software data from GitHub, constructing a Software Economic Complexity Index and examining relatedness dynamics. In the Discussion, the authors consider the emerging role of LLMs in software development and note that their broader effects on the software industry remain uncertain.

This uncertainty is situated in a context where LLMs appear to provide better programming advice in languages with more training data, potentially influencing ubiquitous languages and countries with lower software complexity. The authors flag that understanding AI's impact is essential for interpreting future changes in software capabilities and economic complexity.