HackerRank Research Finds Generative AI Changing How Developers Code–and How Companies Hire Developers

HackerRank, the developer skills company,released a new report on the state of AI-related coding skills and found that the nature of a developer’s work is quickly evolving to keep up with advancements in Artificial Intelligence. As a result, how companies find, hire and upskill developers must also change to match this emerging reality.

HackerRank surveyed more than 42,000 global developers in February and March 2023 and analyzed recent technical hiring data from HackerRank’s skill assessment platform. Of survey respondents, 82% of developers believe AI will redefine the future of coding and software development, with 75% of developers adjusting their skills in anticipation of this seismic shift.

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“We’ve entered an AI revolution that is poised to change the very nature of what it means to be a developer and write code,” said Vivek Ravisankar, co-founder and CEO at HackerRank. “I see the result of this revolution as faster innovation than ever before, the democratization of development and expanded opportunities for developer creativity. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

AI Used to Augment Coding Tasks
The report found that developers and employers alike are racing to embrace artificial intelligence in the workplace. Access to AI assistants will transform key elements of development work—automating many repetitive or tedious tasks and creating space for more abstract thinking and creative problem-solving.

“AI is set to become a key part of developer workflows, with the rise of AI assistants like GitHub Copilot and all-purpose tools such as ChatGPT,” said Ankit Arya, Principal Product Manager, AI at HackerRank. “Personally, I use ChatGPT for retrieving information or code snippets while coding, and I find it way more efficient than traditional search engines. AI’s potential lies in augmenting developers’ skills rather than replacing them.”

Uptick in Demand for AI Skill Sets
For employers, there’s emerging pressure to find, hire and nurture teams with the technical skills needed to fuel innovation and business opportunities unlocked by advancements in AI. HackerRank’s developer skills assessments are critical to interviewing and validating technical talent, and the report found that the creation of new assessments with AI-related questions has increased by 81% since ChatGPT’s public launch in November 2022. Test creations are a good indicator of business interest, and that usage increase suggests a surging interest in hiring for AI-centered skill sets.

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The report also uncovered a gap between the AI skills companies need and the skills they’re currently testing in potential hires. HackerRank used machine learning to extract skill requirements from tens of thousands of job descriptions and found the most in-demand skills for AI-related roles were machine learning, Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow, deep learning, and AWS. Companies, however, continue testing for more general and conceptual topics like problem-solving and statistics.

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