Google's AI-Driven Coding Revolution: Implications for Software Engineering

AI is Coding AI -- Should Software Engineers Be Worried?

A recent GitHub survey found that 97% of developers use AI coding tools, and the use cases vary from project to project. Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently revealed that AI generates more than a quarter of all new code at the technology company. This statement sent shockwaves through the internet, raising questions about what this means for software engineers and developers as AI begins to take on more complex coding. During the recent quarterly earnings call, Pichai said that engineers first review and then accept the AI-generated code. "This helps engineers do more and move faster," he added. In response to Pichai's statement, a Google employee, anonymously disclosed on Hacker News that AI acts as an autocomplete tool, mainly capable of finishing lines. "The code completion engine is basically just good at finishing the lines I'm writing. If I'm writing 'function getAc...' it's smart enough to complete to 'function getActionHandler()'...But it's not doing any engineering at all," the employee further said. Another Google software engineer, while offering more insights, explained that much of the AI-generated code is focused on maintenance and cleanup tasks rather than actual feature development. According to this techie, Pichai was talking about "clean-up jobs for dependencies or removing deprecated classes or changing deployment configurations". "In terms of features, these are not feature works at all," the person added. There's more. Several developers have expressed concerns, sharing mixed reactions. One such developer from Google highlighted potential long-term risks, suggesting that AI-generated code without dedicated human authorship could lead to significant maintenance and quality issues in the future. "And now we have Google, THE GOOGLE, dumping code with no author directly into their product. What a shitshow. I have no idea what this will look like in five or ten years, but I'm not confident it will be good," said the insider. Another developer said while AI can assist with basic tasks, human intervention is still crucial for complex business logic, casting doubt on AI's ability to generate fully functional code independently. "For almost any real code, when I do let Copilot write it, I end up having to basically rewrite it from scratch or edit it to the point of being unrecognisable for anything with more complicated business logic than a basic algorithm," shared the developer. At GitHub Universe 2024, even GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke said developers are leading the future of AI by not only building AI but also harnessing AI tools to construct more intelligent systems. "You're using AI to build AI. You've laid the blueprint for what it means to partner with intelligent machines," he added. He further said that developers have embraced AI faster than any sector of the global workforce. This has purportedly made GitHub copilot the most adopted tool on the planet, with Python dominating AI programming. When Dohmke spoke about how the first phase of GitHub Copilot was built on three key pillars, he said the very first pillar is AI-infused. "They were AI integrations at different touch points in the developer lifecycle. But if you wanted to avoid AI and build it all yourself, you could," he claimed. As per Dohmke, the second pillar of phase one is conversational coding. He said that ChatGPT and Copilot Chatbot have established the foundation for a "Jarvis-like interaction with code, a tool akin to Iron Man's Jarvis, that enables anyone to create code using natural language". The third pillar of phase one is about multi-model. "We built with multi-model functionality. One default model for one specific use case," said Dohmke, citing GPT-3.5 for autocompletion or GPT-4o for workspace. Dohmke, while suggesting an impending change, said, "The partnership between developers and AI is going to the next level." Introducing the second phase, he said that it'll no longer be AI-infused but AI-native. "AI is core and cannot be separated from the entire developer experience. All up, we will see a native developer workflow," Dohmke added. Not just for coding, GitHub is using AI to assess AI. For instance, Copilot Autofix utilises the CodeQL engine, GPT-4o, and a combination of heuristics and GitHub Copilot APIs to generate code suggestions. It builds an LLM prompt based on sources, including CodeQL analysis and short snippets of code around the flow path. Similar to GitHub Copilot, which helps developers code more quickly, Copilot Autofix accelerates the pace of remediation. This way, security teams make real progress with the backlog of existing vulnerabilities, commonly known as security debt. A recent GitHub survey found that 97% of developers use AI coding tools, and the use cases vary from project to project. While GitHub Copilot Autofix employs automated testing, red team scrutiny, and filtering to mitigate risks, experts underscore limitations in self-verifying AI systems, suggesting that relying on another AI model for review may be fraught with redundancy and cost challenges. "It's hard to use AI to trust AI for the same reason people often miss their own mistakes," said David Timothy Strauss, CTO at Pantheon. The concept of 'AI building AI' remains questionable. "Most of my code is Copilot autocomplete so...I could say nearly 90% of my code is generated," said a Reddit user. Needless to say, AI is clearly advancing in its ability to reason through complex problems. Coding, traditionally, involves two key operations: determining how to solve the problem and then writing the code to implement the solution. The latter, the actual coding part, is likely on the brink of being transformed by AI. The same was even highlighted in one of AIM's recent articles -- 'AI is Killing Remote Work', along with how coding tools such as Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GitHub Copilot and Amazon Q Developer are helping developers build products faster and collaborate more effectively. That explains how Google was able to ship NotebookLM faster with a small, agile group of developers, leveraging AI to accelerate product development. Not only to accelerate product development, AI is here to create more jobs for software engineers, automating mundane coding tasks.

AI is writing more codes than ever. Is this the end of coders as we know them?

The implications of AI in software development are vast, reigniting the age-old debate about whether AI will replace software engineers. As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, its impact on the tech landscape is becoming increasingly profound. During the company's earnings call on October 29, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, announced that more than a quarter of the new code is generated by AI and subsequently reviewed by engineers. Pichai also stated that this development is "boosting productivity and efficiency", enabling its engineers to accomplish more

Is AI Taking Over Software Engineering Jobs?

The technical capabilities of artificial intelligence can never be doubted. AI has limitless growth potential when it is used as a tool in the software industry. Whether it is the implementation of algorithms in coding, processing of commands or software testing, AI fares better than humans in many skills. One of the best examples is a software platform called GitHub Copilot which was developed by OpenAI. Any techie can use OpenAI's Codex AI model to complete multiple programming tasks in a very short time. Just imagine the amount of output generated by GitHub Copilot if used by an IT company on a large scale. If the platform is very successful and helps save both time and money, then any software company will be tempted to reduce the strength of its workforce. That's how AI is influencing the job market in the IT industry. Artificial intelligence has surely taken away thousands of software engineering jobs in the past few years. But, it is safe to say that AI tools still don't have the potential to completely replace humans. Though AI can write code within seconds, it still lacks human qualities like critical thinking and collaboration skills. AI tools don't understand the objectives or the mission of any IT company and this is an area which certainly requires the knowledge and experience of skilled software engineers. Also, AI models produce code depending on the datasets provided to them and so, this is just another limitation of artificial intelligence. Software engineers should not regard AI as a threat. Instead, they should get motivated to build their expertise in areas like Machine Learning and Data Science. Options to learn new programming languages that are in demand are available. Moreover, aspirants can also aim to get recruited by companies that actively hire software engineers with expertise in developing and testing AI tools and mobile applications.

Even Google is using AI for coding

Google is making big moves with artificial intelligence (AI), and it's not just talk. Over a quarter of all new code at Google is now AI-generated. That's according to CEO Sundar Pichai, who shared these details during Google's Q3 2024 earnings call. Google is leaning heavily on generative AI to make coding faster and more efficient, and it's having a real impact on the company. Sundar Pichai dropped a bombshell during the Q3 2024 earnings call: AI now accounts for more than 25% of the new code being written at Google. AI isn't just a gimmick here -- it's actively helping engineers "do more and move faster." One of AI's big wins is tackling old, clunky code. Google's internal AI tool, called "Goose," uses the company's 25 years of engineering knowledge to help write new code and fix up old systems. Welcome GPT-4o with Canvas: OpenAI's new interface for writing and coding Here's how it works: Goose suggests code snippets, and then Google's engineers step in to review and approve them. It's not about replacing humans. Instead, AI is speeding things up, taking care of the boring, repetitive stuff so engineers can focus on the interesting problems. AI-generated code still goes through a rigorous human review to keep things up to Google's high standards. This push towards AI-driven coding is part of Google's larger strategy to make AI the core of its future. Pichai even mentioned that Google DeepMind is now overseeing teams like the one behind the Gemini app, showing just how seriously Google is taking this shift. If AI is writing so much code, it's fair to ask: are human programmers about to get the boot? According to Pichai, the answer is no. The idea is to make engineers more productive, not to replace them. By handling repetitive coding tasks, AI allows developers to focus on bigger, more creative projects. It's all about enhancing human capabilities, not eliminating them. But let's be real -- some Googlers are still nervous. The whole "AI is here to help, not replace you" message sounds good, but when you hear that AI is writing a quarter of all new code, it's easy to see why there are concerns. The key point here is that AI isn't self-sufficient. The code it generates still needs human oversight. Engineers are the ones making the calls, solving problems, and deciding what makes the final cut. "This helps our engineers do more and move faster," Pichai said, emphasizing that AI-generated code is just another tool. It handles the boring bits, but the heavy lifting -- creativity, problem-solving, and the big-picture work -- still requires human engineers. The timing of this AI push couldn't be better for Google. Alphabet, Google's parent company, just reported a massive $88.3 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2024. Google Cloud alone pulled in $11.4 billion, a jump of 35% from the previous year. AI is playing a major role in this growth. Google Cloud's income shot up to $1.95 billion from just $270 million the previous year, thanks in large part to AI-powered development. And it's not just Google Cloud. AI is everywhere in Google's products. YouTube has generative AI tools that help creators make video summaries and titles. The Pixel 9 series of smartphones is also packed with AI features that users love. All of this is part of Google's big plan to be the leader in AI, as pointed out by Forrester analyst Tracy Woo. Google using AI for coding is a sign of where software development is headed. AI can automate mundane coding tasks, find inefficiencies, and even suggest solutions for legacy systems. This means developers could end up spending less time fixing bugs and more time building new, innovative features. But it's not all smooth sailing. AI-generated code isn't perfect -- it can introduce errors or security vulnerabilities if it's not carefully managed. Google knows this, which is why human engineers still review everything AI spits out. That's the safety net. But the potential risks are still there, and they're something that the industry needs to keep an eye on. Another challenge is that AI might be fast, but it's not great at understanding the full context of a project. It can generate code, but it doesn't always get the "why" behind what it's writing. That's where human developers still have a big edge -- they understand the business needs, the users, and the creative side of building software. AI, for now, is more of a super-powered assistant than a true creator. Google is all-in on AI, and it's not just for coding. Pichai mentioned that Google is "uniquely positioned to lead in the era of AI" because of its strong infrastructure and research teams. Google has also consolidated its AI resources, bringing together teams from machine learning, security, and other divisions to create a unified AI strategy. Pichai's vision is for AI to be woven into everything Google does, from Search to Cloud. And the numbers suggest it's working -- Google's revenue and productivity gains are clear signs that the strategy is paying off. Other tech companies are going to be watching this closely, and it wouldn't be surprising if many of them follow Google's lead. Google's use of AI to generate over a quarter of its new code marks a major shift in software development. But AI isn't here to replace human engineers; it's here to change how they work. By taking care of the repetitive tasks, AI lets developers focus on more important, creative aspects of their projects. The adoption of tools like Goose is just one part of Google's bigger plan to make AI a core part of everything they do. AI has the power to change how software is built, but it still needs human oversight and creativity. For now, Google is using AI as a tool to empower its engineers, not replace them. And while the journey to fully AI-driven development is just getting started, one thing is clear: Google is setting the pace, and everyone else is trying to keep up.

AI Now Writes Over 25% of Code at Google

Google is now using AI to write more than a quarter of its new code, according to Google and parent company Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who shared the news during the firm's most recent earnings call. Google is "using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency," Pichai said. "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster." Using a generative AI model to write code isn't exactly a new idea -- though it could ultimately result in fewer software engineer jobs, especially at more entry levels, while those who remain take on more work. Earlier this year, startup Cognition Labs announced its own AI "software engineer," dubbed Devin, which can execute entire engineering projects from start to finish with little to no human intervention. And last year, ChatGPT reportedly proved itself to have the skills of a Level 3 software engineer because it was able to pass a Google coding interview. But using AI to write code could pose copyright issues or create security flaws if it's trained on licensed or old code. And some companies using AI-crafted code have already reportedly experienced outages and cybersecurity problems as a result, primarily due to a lack of adequate human oversight. Google is continuing to go all-in on AI, from making AI Overviews appear at the top of Google Search to adding AI features to YouTube and developing a new Gemini model. Google is reportedly plotting a December release for its next Gemini model, which may be called Gemini 3.0, and could launch the same month as a new model from its main AI rival, OpenAI. Google's next AI model may be an autonomous agent, meaning it can complete tasks by controlling a computer, opening different applications, typing, and clicking on a screen to finish a project or conduct research. This means Google could potentially offload even more of its internal projects to AI models in the future. It this came to fruition, it would follow Anthropic's launch of a similar feature, Computer Use. But AIs can hallucinate or be tricked. Because of this, giving an AI this much power poses some major security concerns, and underscores the ongoing need for human supervision and oversight. The increased use of AI tools also means higher energy use and data center costs, sometimes in areas with existing power shortages or unstable grids. AI's current high electricity and water use stand to take a substantial toll on the environment, and Google's emissions alone have already spiked 50% in the past year thanks to its AI use. Now, it plans to go nuclear in an effort to lessen that energy burden. For now, AI is good for Google's bottom line. Alphabet's stock price is up about 2% in the past day, and up 36% in the past year. Nvidia has also seen massive gains in the AI era, but rivals like AMD haven't seen as much traction from the generative AI surge.

Google now uses AI to write 25% of its new code -- Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai underlines the company's role in the AI industry amidst strong Q3 24 financials

Will AI completely displace entry-level software engineers? In Alphabet's recent earning calls, Sundar Pichai said that Google relies on Artificial Intelligence to generate a quarter of its new code. The tech giant, highlighting its strong financials last quarter, attached significant importance to how Google is continuously redefining user experience - while depending on AI internally at the same time. Likewise, on the financial end, the company is seeing an applaudable turnaround - with a 34% increase in net income year over year. Using AI to write code is nothing new. Let's be honest; we've all used AI at least once to wrap up that one specific assignment or grasp a new concept. However, the fact that an industry leader like Google writes 25% of its new code is both intriguing and unsettling at the same time. Sundar Pichai says, "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers." Of course, AI is not self-aware, at least not yet, and every line of code has to be monitored by senior developers. But this poses a real threat to up-and-coming programmers. Google is also revamping how we search things on the internet through AI. Meet AI Overviews, which accumulate results online and offer a summarized overview. "In Search, our new AI features are expanding what people can search for and how they search for it." While, in theory, this is a step in the right direction, the model tends to slip up occasionally. We should also highlight that Google could be forced to split up in light of an anti-trust lawsuit by the Department of Justice pinning Google's monopoly in the Search Engine market. Overall, Alphabet's financials are solid as the recent influx in AI services to mainstream customers and a surge in YouTube Ad revenue landed the giant a respectable 15% increase in revenue at $88.2 billion compared to last year. Interestingly, the operating income for Google Services is up by 28%, even when you factor in the costs of running those AI models. Google Cloud, offering cloud computing and generative AI solutions, sees a substantial 7.3x uplift in the operating income at $1.94 Billion. All things considered, it appears that Google's more AI-centric approach is working. While threats about potential job displacements are still looming, Google is doing all it can to appease shareholders and maintain its status in the market.

Google CEO says over 25% of new Google code is generated by AI

On Tuesday, Google's CEO revealed that AI systems now generate more than a quarter of new code for its products, with human programmers overseeing the computer-generated contributions. The statement, made during Google's Q3 2024 earnings call, shows how AI tools are already having a sizable impact on software development. "We're also using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency," Pichai said during the call. "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster." Google developers aren't the only programmers using AI to assist with coding tasks. It's difficult to get hard numbers, but according to Stack Overflow's 2024 Developer Survey, over 76 percent of all respondents "are using or are planning to use AI tools in their development process this year," with 62 percent actively using them. A 2023 GitHub survey found that 92 percent of US-based software developers are "already using AI coding tools both in and outside of work." AI-assisted coding first emerged in a big way with GitHub Copilot in 2021, and the feature saw a wide release in June 2022. It used a special coding AI model from OpenAI called Codex, which was trained to both suggest continuations to existing code and create new code from scratch from English instructions. Since then, AI-based coding has expanded in a big way, with ever-improving solutions from Anthropic, Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Replit. GitHub Copilot has expanded in capability as well. Just yesterday, the Microsoft-owned subsidiary announced that developers will be able to use non-OpenAI models such as Anthropic's Claude 3.5 and Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro to generate code within the application for the first time. While some tout the benefits of AI use in coding, the practice has also attracted criticism from those who worry that future software generated partially or largely by AI could become riddled with difficult-to-detect bugs and errors. According to a 2023 study by Stanford University, developers using AI coding assistants tended to include more bugs while paradoxically believing that their code is more secure. This finding was highlighted by Dr. Talia Ringer, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who told Wired that "there are probably both benefits and risks involved" with AI-assisted coding, emphasizing that "more code isn't better code."

Google's use of AI for Code Generation: What It Means for Developers

Google's AI code generation now accounts for over 25% of new code, boosting productivity and efficiency for developers Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionised various sectors, and software development is no exception. Google, a leader in technological innovation, has embraced AI for code generation to enhance productivity and efficiency. During the company's third-quarter earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai shared insights on how AI is transforming the coding landscape at Google. Know the significance of AI in software development, the introduction of Google's new AI tool called "Goose," and the broader implications for developers.

Google CEO says a quarter of the company's new code is already AI generated

This is how a knowledge base dies, not with a bang but with a board-approved whimper. Google CEO Sundar Pichai just revealed that AI now generates more than a quarter of new code for its products, according to a company earnings call . In other words, AI tools are already having an absolutely mammoth impact on the development of software. Pichai did say that human programmers oversee the computer-generated code, which is something. The CEO noted that AI coding helps with "boosting productivity and efficiency," ensuring that engineers "do more and move faster." There's no two ways around it. 25 percent is a lot, and Google is just one company relying on AI algorithms to perform complex coding tasks. According to , over 75 percent of respondents are already using or are "planning to use" AI tools to assist with software development. Another indicated that 92 percent of US-based developers are currently using AI coding tools. This leads us to the rampaging elephant in the room. As AI continues to gobble up coding tasks, human experience starts to dwindle. This could eventually lead to a decreased knowledge base in which humans don't know how to fix errors created by AI algorithms that were, in turn, created by other AI algorithms. We could be staring down an ouroboros of confusion where it's nearly impossible to detect bugs amidst generations of AI code. Fun times! We aren't quite there yet, but AI-assisted coding shows no signs of slowing down. The process started its meteoric rise back in 2022 when GitHub . Since then, companies like Anthropic, Meta, Google and OpenAI have all released AI-coding software suites. GitHub recently announced that Copilot with models from Anthropic and Google, in addition to OpenAI.

Jobs at risk? Sundar Pichai's this comment raises alarm for software engineers

Google coding by AI: A recent remark by Google CEO on new code and Artificial intelligence (AI) has been gaining attention. Sundar Pichai said that their long term focus and investment in AI are paying off and driving success for the company and its customers. Nowadays, most tech companies are using AI to ease the process and increase efficiency but also poses a threat to human jobs. Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google parent company Alphabet, in a recent earnings call revealed more than a quarter of new code at the tech giant is generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Pichai revealed the striking statistic during the company's recent third-quarter 2024 earnings call and said Google's new code, now generated by AI, is subsequently reviewed by human engineers. The remarks of Sundar Pichai on Google code underscores how the company is leveraging this technology internally to boost productivity and also a fundamental shift in the coding landscape, where AI increasingly shares the workload. ALSO READ: Sundar Pichai's 'three-word criteria' may help you get a job at Google The fact that an artificial intelligence now generates over 25 per cent of the code for Google's products highlights just how integral AI has become in shaping the company's software development. While AI tools enhance productivity and allow Google's engineers to work faster, human programmers are still responsible for overseeing the AI-generated code to ensure quality and maintain standards. Sundar Pichai said that the company has made several structural changes that have unified teams in research, machine learning infrastructure and developer teams, as well as its security efforts and its platforms and devices team. "We're also using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency. Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster. I am energized by our progress, and the opportunities ahead. And we continue to be laser focused on building great products," Sundar Pichai said, emphasising AI's crucial role in the company's growth strategy. Over the past few years, Google has been simplifying its organisational structure to enhance efficiency, re-engineer its cost base, and operate with greater speed and agility. It is pertinent to note that the shift towards AI-assisted coding is not just limited to Google as more and more companies are relying on AI. According to industry surveys, most developers are already using or plan to use AI in their work. ALSO READ: Google's free meal policy for employees: CEO Sundar Pichai explains surprising benefits Stack Overflow's 2024 Developer Survey showed that over 75 per cent of developers are either currently utilising AI tools or intend to, according to a report in Firstpost. GitHub reported that 92 per cent of US-based developers have integrated AI into their workflow. While AI tools offer efficiency and makes tasks easier, apprehensions have been raised that the heavy dependence on AI for coding could lead to a reduced skill set among human developers. Last year, Google had merged its AI research units, DeepMind and Google Brain, into a single division called Google DeepMind, led by Demis Hassabis. In the subsequent months, Alphabet introduced the Gemini family of AI models that is expected to fuel the next generation of AI advancements. Earlier in the month, Google also moved the Gemini app team to Google DeepMind in order to speed up deployment of new models, and streamline post-training work. Google's significant move comes amid a high stakes battle for AI supremacy with rivals such as Microsoft, Facebook parent Meta, and OpenAI. Pichai said that their long-term focus and investment in AI are "paying off and driving success" for the company and its customers. "We are uniquely positioned to lead in the era of AI because of our differentiated full stack approach to AI innovation, and we're now seeing this operate at scale," Pichai said. ALSO READ: Google CEO Sundar Pichai nears billionaire status powered by AI boom Pichai said they now have seven products and platforms that have more than 2 billion monthly users apiece, including Google Maps which recently surpassed this milestone. "All the seven products have done their first versions of incorporating Gemini (AI models), and there's an aggressive roadmap ahead for 2025," he said. The Alphabet chief said that they have released two generations of Gemini models so far. "By any measure -- token volume, API calls, consumer usage, business adoption -- usage of the Gemini models is in a period of dramatic growth," he said. Alphabet is now working on the third generation of model, Pichai said. "It is progressing well, and teams internally are now set up much better to consume the underlying model innovation and translate that into innovation within their products."

CEO Sundar Pichai says 25% of new code Google creates is written by AI

A hot potato: Like virtually every tech company today, Google is investing heavily in all things artificial intelligence. Not only is the firm pushing its own generative AI products, but it's also using the technology to increase productivity. According to CEO Sundar Pichai, AI is being used to write around 25% of new code at Google. During the company's third-quarter 2024 earnings call, Pichai said Google is "using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency," adding that more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI. That sort of statement brings questions about AI replacing human jobs, the errors it introduces, and potential copyright issues, but Pichai says all the generated code is reviewed and accepted by engineers. The Google boss added that this helps the engineers do more and move faster. AI-generated and AI-assisted code doesn't have the best reputation. In 2022, a study found that when programmers had access to code-generating AI, their output was more likely incorrect or insecure compared to the "hand-made" solutions. In April 2023, another study that involving asking ChatGPT 517 software programming questions found that it got more than half of them wrong. Generative AI is improving all the time, but even if it is making fewer mistakes these days, a study from earlier this month concluded that using AI coding assistants does not boost productivity or prevent burnout. While Pichai mentioned that engineers still review and check AI-generated code, it's easy to imagine that its use will eventually come at the cost of at least some jobs. It's especially worrying in light of Anat Ashkenazi, Alphabet's new CFO, stating that one of her top priorities at the company would be to drive more "cost efficiencies." Google parent Alphabet laid off 12,000 people, or 6% of its global workforce last year and has been cutting more employees in 2024. Ashkenazi, who had spent 23 years at Eli Lilly, praised the cost-saving measures implemented by the company, but said "any organization can always push a little further," and she will be "looking at additional opportunities." It was reported earlier this week that Google was working on an AI agent called Jarvis that can take over a user's PC. It's supposed to automate everyday, web-based tasks by taking screenshots, interpreting the information, then clicking buttons or entering text.

Google's Using AI to Crank Out a Big Chunk of Its Code

Samantha Kelly is a freelance writer with a focus on consumer technology, AI, social media, Big Tech, emerging trends and how they impact our everyday lives. Her work has been featured on CNN, NBC, NPR, the BBC, Mashable and more. As Google continues to push the boundaries of AI, it's not just integrating the technology into its products and services - it's also using AI to build them. On its third-quarter earnings call Tuesday, CEO Sundar Pichai said that more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. "We're ... using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency," he said. "This helps our engineers do more and move faster." As the generative AI era has unfolded over the last couple of years, Google has positioned itself as both a creator and user of AI tools. Most visibly, it has made its Gemini AI platform central to its products, from its Pixel phones to its search tools to Google Maps, and its Gemini chatbot competes directly with OpenAI's ChatGPT. Whether AI doing coding work is good, bad or a wash for software engineers has yet to be settled. But as CNET's Connie Guglielmo pointed out earlier this week, "if software engineers need to start rethinking what they do, then it's probably time we all reflect on how AI will change our jobs in the not-too-distant future." Meanwhile, Google faces challenges of its own following an August ruling that its search and ad business is a monopoly. One of the more drastic potential outcomes could be a breakup of the company and regulatory oversight that might impact how it integrates and expands its AI-driven offerings. Pichai's remarks came as parent company Alphabet reported quarterly revenue of $88.3 billion, with Google Services (search) up 13% from the same period last year and with Google Cloud, which provides AI infrastructure to other companies, up 35%. On the call, Pichai said the company is also working on bringing down costs associated with powering AI, particularly when it comes to running AI Overviews, the AI-written summaries of Google search queries that appear at the top of search results. These costs have recently dropped by more than 90%, he said, thanks to "hardware, engineering, and technical breakthroughs." Pichai said that Google has doubled the size of its custom Gemini model and that user engagement with AI Overviews is climbing, with people asking longer and more complex questions. The company started rolling out the tool to more than a hundred new countries and territories this week, extending its reach to more than 1 billion users monthly. He also teased Project Astra, designed to let AI "see and reason about the world around you," saying that experiences like that could become available as early as next year.

Google CEO Says 25 Percent of Its Code Is Now AI-Generated

During Google's latest quarterly earnings call, the tech giant's CEO boasted that a large percentage of its new code is written by artificial intelligence. In the Q3 call that reported both shares and revenue are up, CEO Sundar Pichai noted that a whopping 25 percent of Google's code is being generated by AI -- though of course, there's a catch. "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers," the CEO said during the call, a transcript of which was published by the company shortly thereafter. "This helps our engineers do more and move faster." The part of Pichai's proclamation about engineers doing more and moving "faster" may be complicated by the reality of AI programming assistants, which have been found to insert errors into code, infringe on copyright, and in some cases even cause outages. When cases like the aforementioned present themselves, programmers -- who are now forced to become AI prompt masters -- have to manually fix any issues created by their AI helpers. Though he didn't mention it outright, Google's CEO even alluded to those necessary human hours by noting that all the company's AI-generated code has to be reviewed and accepted by engineers. The entire state of play begs the question: wouldn't it be faster and far less tedious to just let the programmers do their jobs? While Pichai didn't note exactly which of the company's AI products are writing the code, he did mention a few of its other offerings in the same subsection of the Q3 call, including its newly-rebranded Gemini chatbot and its Notebook Language Model (LM), an AI note-taking app. The CEO went on to boast about Google Search's AI Overviews, which the company has newly rolled out in more than a hundred new countries this week and which, per Pichai, "leads to users coming to Search more often for more of their information needs, driving additional search queries." "We're seeing strong engagement," he continued, "which is increasing overall search usage and user satisfaction."

AI is Generating More Than a Quarter of All New Code at Google

Google's parent company Alphabet posted its quarterly earnings on Tuesday. A major highlight of the earnings call with company CEO Sundar Pichai was how the Mountain View-based tech giant is optimising the costs of running expensive artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for all of its products and services. The CEO said that the company has now started generating more than one-fourth of all of the new code using generative AI, which has allowed the company to be more cost-efficient. In a blog post, Google detailed the highlights from Pichai's speech at the earnings call. A large part of the speech was dedicated to AI and how the tech giant has solved major pain points in building and scaling the infrastructure. Alphabet posted a revenue of $88.3 billion (roughly Rs. 7.4 lakh crore) in revenue in the previous quarter, where the majority of the increase in revenue came from the AI-based services it started offering at the beginning of the year. A large part of the increased revenue was a result of the company reducing its expenditure and working faster with a lean structure, Pichai highlighted. "For instance, it was a small, dedicated team that built Notebook LM, an incredibly popular product that has so much promise," he added. However, the biggest achievement for the tech giant was probably in using AI to write code for various products. Highlighting how the company was able to boost productivity and efficiency, he said that more than a quarter of all new code at Google is now being generated by AI, which is then reviewed and accepted by engineers. One major area of focus for Google is its Search products, which now include its search engine, Circle to Search, AI Overviews, and Google Lens. Pichai claimed that the company has been able to reduce costs for each of the services. The most significant is AI Overviews which is said to have "reduced costs by more than 90 percent for these queries through hardware, engineering, and technical breakthrough." Google also witnessed a revenue increase in Google Cloud services. Pichai said that the division secured revenue of 11.4 billion dollars (roughly Rs. 95,850 crores), which is an increase of 35 percent year-on-year. It also secured operating margins of 17 percent. Moving forward, the tech giant plans to continue to invest in AI technologies, scaling its capabilities, and further optimising costs.

Google CEO says more than 25 percent of company's new code written by AI

More than a quarter of Google's new code is being generated by artificial intelligence (AI), CEO Sundar Pichai revealed during Tuesday's third-quarter earnings call for the leading tech company. "We're also using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency," Pichai said during the call. "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster." Pichai's revelation marks the latest indication of how AI is reshaping software development as Google seeks to keep up with competitors in the space. The company has also bolstered its Gemini AI chatbot and AI-powered search engine. Pichai said Google parent Alphabet's investments in AI are "paying off." This has included bolstering Google's Gemini AI chatbot and AI-powered Search features. "Our commitment to innovation, as well as our long-term focus and investment in AI, are paying off and driving success for the company and for our customers," he said on the call. "We are uniquely positioned to lead in the era of AI because of our differentiated full stack approach to AI innovation, and we're now seeing this operate at scale." He said this "full stack" approach includes AI infrastructure with data centers, chips, and a global fiber network, along with research teams and a "broad global reach. " The company earned $26.3 billion during the most recent quarter, a 34 percent increase from a year ago, while revenue rose 15 percent from the same period last year to $88.27 billion. "Our technology leadership and AI portfolio are helping us attract new customers, win larger deals, and drive 30% deeper product adoption with existing customers," Pichai said. A large part of this growth was brought by Google's cloud business, which generated a quarterly revenue of $11.4 billion. This was up 35 percent from the same period last year, Pichai said. Pichai also boasted growth with YouTube's combined ad and subscription revenue, which surpassed $50 billion over the past four quarters. His comments came just weeks after Google signed a deal with Kairos Power to use small modular nuclear reactors to power AI data centers. The small modular reactors are a type of next-generation nuclear reactor that have yet to be built in the U.S. but are expected to be completed between 2030 and 2035. They will produce 500 megawatts of power. Nuclear serves as a key carbon-free source of energy at a time when the tech giant is struggling to cut its emissions and reach its goal of becoming net-zero by the end of the decade. Google's emissions rose 13 percent in 2023 and are up 48 percent since 2019.

Over 25 Percent of Google's New Code Is Generated by AI, Says Sundar Pichai

Waymo achieves over 1 million fully autonomous miles driven each week. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said on October 29 that Google is using artificial intelligence (AI) internally to improve its coding processes, boosting productivity and efficiency. The chief executive highlighted that more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, projecting how the company is leveraging this technology to enhance productivity. Also Read: Google Expands AI Overviews to Over 100 Countries, Adds Hindi Language Support The code generated is then reviewed and accepted by engineers, Pichai said during the company's Q3 earnings call. "This helps our engineers do more and move faster. I am energised by our progress and the opportunities ahead. We continue to be laser-focused on building great products." Pichai also said the company recently moved the Gemini app team to Google DeepMind to accelerate the deployment of new models and streamline post-training work. He emphasised that Google is uniquely positioned to lead in the era of AI due to its differentiated full-stack approach to AI innovation. The company is seeing this approach operate at scale, with three components: AI infrastructure that includes data centers, chips, and a global fiber network; research teams advancing deep technical AI research while also building the models; and global reach through products and platforms that touch billions of people and customers around the world. Also Read: Google Working on AI Project to Automate Web-Based Tasks: Report Pichai noted that all seven of Google's products and platforms with more than 2 billion monthly users utilise Gemini models. In response to strong demand, the company is making Gemini more broadly available to developers, with its integration now on GitHub Copilot, and more to come. Also Read: Google Announces AI Collaborations for Healthcare, Sustainability, and Agriculture in India AI Overviews, Circle to Search, new features in Lens, and the integration of ads within AI Overviews are among the AI features Pichai discussed, noting that "for all these AI features, it's just the beginning, and you'll see a rapid pace of innovation and progress." He stated that Google's technology leadership and AI portfolio are helping the company attract new customers, win larger deals, and drive a 30 percent deeper product adoption with existing customers, specifically referring to cloud growth. Pichai also mentioned that Google DeepMind's most capable model for video generation, Veo, is coming to YouTube Shorts to assist creators later this year. Also Read: Waymo AI-Based Self-Driving Car Collides with Bus in San Francisco Turning to Waymo, Pichai said, "Waymo is now a clear technical leader within the autonomous vehicle industry and creating a growing commercial opportunity." "Over the years, Waymo has been infusing cutting-edge AI into its work. Now, each week, Waymo is driving more than 1 million fully autonomous miles and serves over 150,000 paid rides -- the first time any AV company has reached this kind of mainstream use," he highlighted. "Through its expanded network and operations partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta, plus a new multi-year partnership with Hyundai, Waymo will bring fully autonomous driving to more people and places. By developing a universal Driver, Waymo has multiple paths to market. And with its sixth-generation system, Waymo has significantly reduced unit costs without compromising safety," Pichai concluded.

Alphabet CEO says more than a quarter of new code at Google is AI-generated

This new reality is a testament to generative AI's power to write and edit code, one of the technology's most common use cases despite promises of productivity boosts across most work types. Speaking at the company's most recent quarterly earnings report, Pichai described AI as a central element in Google's operations, helping to drive innovation and efficiency. "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers," Pichai noted. "This helps our engineers do more and move faster." Describing this sizeable AI injection as energizing, Pichai indicated new levels of efficiency would allow the company to invest more time building better products. More broadly, he stated that new Search advancements, including AI Overviews, "are transforming the user experience, expanding what people can search for and how they search for it." Google has recently rolled out AI Overviews in Search to more than 100 new countries and territories, bringing the tool's monthly reach to more than one billion globally. Google Cloud, the division behind the new AI advancements and infrastructure, generated third-quarter revenues of $11.4 billion, representing a 35% year-over-year growth. Overall Google revenue for the three months ending September 30, 2024 stood at $88.3 billion, up 15%. Pichai also addressed the environmental concerns relating to the energy-intensive nature of AI data centers, adding that a planned investment in small modular nuclear reactors is set to generate 500MW of carbon-free power.

Over 25% of Google's code is written by AI, Sundar Pichai

Some have accused the tech giants of blowing AI smoke on earnings calls -- touting the supposed benefits of massive capital expenditures without reporting any tangible impact on productivity or savings. Google-parent Alphabet, however, says it is making big progress on both fronts. More than a quarter of all new code at the search giant is now generated by AI, CEO Sundar Pichai said during the company's third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. That's only a small part of how Alphabet executives say the company's long-running AI efforts are beginning to benefit its balance sheet. The company says its impressive Q3 performance -- earnings beat analyst predictions -- was driven, in part, by its cloud business. The segment generated quarterly revenues of $11.4 billion, up 35% from the same period last year, as Pinchai said artificial intelligence offerings helped attract new enterprise customers and win larger deals. Pichai repeatedly touted the success of companies using various AI tools running on Google's Gemini models, which he said has helped drive 30% deeper product adoption among existing customers. "We are uniquely positioned to lead in the era of AI because of our differentiated full stack approach to AI innovation," he said, "and we are now seeing this operate at scale." "AI fatigue" may have factored into a slight stock sell-off after the company's modest second-quarter earnings beat, which was marred by lower-than-expected YouTube ad revenue. Investors cheered the third-quarter news, however, with shares popping roughly 6% Wednesday morning. Shareholders have seen their investment grow nearly 30% this year, compared the S&P 500's 23% gain. Outside the cloud, Pichai cited another company milestone: For the first time, total YouTube ad and subscription revenues exceeded $50 billion over the past four quarters. That complemented a strong beat from Google's search business, which CFO Anat Ashkenazi noted remains the company's biggest contributor to revenue growth. The segment generated $49.4 billion in revenue, up 12.3% from last year. "AI really supercharges search," chief business officer Philipp Schindler said on the call. "Our new AI-powered features make searches more helpful, and we continue to see great feedback, particularly from younger users." The AI revolution also figures to change how the company hires. Overall, Alphabet's headcount is down by over 1,000 compared to a year ago, according to Fortune's Kali Hays. Google has worked to reorganize and consolidate its teams, which has included growing the footprint of its core AI group, DeepMind. Ashkenazi, who arrived in June after 23 years at drugmaker Eli Lilly, said management was focused on using AI to streamline operations. "I plan to build on these efforts but also evaluate where we might be able to accelerate work and where we might need to pivot to free up capital for more attractive opportunities," she said.

A quarter of Google code now generated using AI

CEO Sundar Pichai says the investment in AI is paying off for the tech giant. In its third-quarter earnings call, Google-owner Alphabet reported a 16pc revenue increase year on year to $88.3bn, while net income rose by 34pc to $26.3bn. Google Services, which includes Search and YouTube ads, had an operating income of nearly $31bn and profits shot up by 35pc in Google Cloud to hit an income of $1.9bn - a sharp rise from $266m in the same period last year. The company attributed the success of Google Cloud to accelerated growth across AI infrastructure, generative AI solutions and core Cloud Platform products. "The momentum across the company is extraordinary," said Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai in the earnings announcement yesterday (29 October). "Our commitment to innovation, as well as our long-term focus and investment in AI are paying off with consumers and partners benefiting from our AI tools." Pichai said that Google is "uniquely" positioned to "lead in the era of AI", pointing to the company's "robust" AI infrastructure and technical AI research teams. Notably, Pichai said that Google is using AI to improve coding processes to boost productivity and efficiency. "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster," he said. Google's range of AI products and services is growing. Recently, the company launched its latest Pixel 9 phones with upgrades that support advanced AI models. While a few months earlier, the company integrated Gemini into Fitbit, its personal health tracking device. Pichai highlighted that Gemini, the company's AI chatbot, is integrated into all seven of the company's products and platforms that together have more than 2bn monthly users. Gemini's API calls have grown by nearly 14 times in six months, he said. Google's new AI Overview feature, that started rolling out to more than a hundred new countries and territories this week, "will now reach more than 1bn users on a monthly basis", Pichai said. Industry research analyst Tracy Woo from Forrester said Google is remaking itself as the "AI leader" and expects stronger traction in the coming year. "Cloud and AI continue to be big growth drivers for Alphabet as [year-on-year] targets are exceeded by over a quarter point," she said. While senior Forrester analyst Nikhil Lai says that regulatory risks to Google Search and competition from Microsoft, Amazon and others will mean there's "a tough road ahead" for the company. Google's AI products have faced legal scrutiny in recent months. Ireland' Data Protection Commission opened an investigation into the company to see if Google complied with EU data laws when developing one of its AI models. While earlier this week, Microsoft laid out allegations against Google, accusing the company of running "shadow campaigns" against its competitor. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Google's CEO Says AI Is Now Responsible for 25% of 'All New Code' Created at the Company

Google's revenue grew overall, with Search growing by 12% and Google Cloud increasing by 35% year-over-year. Google released its third quarter 2024 earnings on Tuesday and emphasized the role that AI plays within the company. "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers," Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated on the earnings call. "This helps our engineers do more and move faster." Google has over 1,000 fewer employees now than it did at the same time last year, for a current headcount of 181,269 employees compared to 182,381 in Q3 2023. Google's AI impact extends to all corners of the globe. Pichai stated that AI overviews in search will roll out to more than a hundred new countries this week and will "now reach more than one billion users on a monthly basis." Related: New Google Report Reveals the Hidden Cost of AI Google Search revenue grew 12% year-over-year, hitting $49.39 billion in the third quarter of this year. Total revenue reached $88.27 billion, a 15% increase from the previous year's $76.69 billion. "Search remained the largest contributor to revenue growth, followed by robust 35% growth in Cloud," Google's chief financial officer Anat Ashkenazi said on the earnings call. Google Cloud revenue was $11.35 billion in Q3 2024. Google also announced on the call that YouTube's ad and subscription revenue for the past four quarters have topped $50 billion for the first time. Overall, "Q3 was another great quarter," Pichai stated. Shares of Google's parent company Alphabet were up over 5% today at the time of writing.