Paper ID: 2410.06107

Towards AI-Native Software Engineering (SE 3.0): A Vision and a Challenge Roadmap

Ahmed E. Hassan, Gustavo A. Oliva, Dayi Lin, Boyuan Chen, Zhen Ming (Jack)Jiang

The rise of AI-assisted software engineering (SE 2.0), powered by Foundation Models (FMs) and FM-powered copilots, has shown promise in improving developer productivity. However, it has also exposed inherent limitations, such as cognitive overload on developers and inefficiencies. We propose a shift towards Software Engineering 3.0 (SE 3.0), an AI-native approach characterized by intent-first, conversation-oriented development between human developers and AI teammates. SE 3.0 envisions AI systems evolving beyond task-driven copilots into intelligent collaborators, capable of deeply understanding and reasoning about software engineering principles and intents. We outline the key components of the SE 3.0 technology stack, which includes this http URL for adaptive and personalized AI partnership, this http URL for intent-first conversation-oriented development, this http URL for multi-objective code synthesis, and this http URL for SLA-aware execution with edge-computing support. Our vision addresses the inefficiencies and cognitive strain of SE 2.0 by fostering a symbiotic relationship between human developers and AI, maximizing their complementary strengths. We also present a roadmap of challenges that must be overcome to realize our vision of SE 3.0. This paper lays the foundation for future discussions on the role of AI in the next era of software engineering.

Submitted: Oct 8, 2024