Qualitative interviews explore AI's effects on developers' work in complex software systems, highlighting benefits and tensions.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly adopted in software development resulting in a transformation of developers’ work. This is particularly important in the context of complex software systems, such as enterprise software or cyber-physical systems, where development involves interconnected codebases and collaboration among multiple actors with deep domain knowledge. However, little is known about how AI affects developers working on complex software systems. In this paper, we examine how AI influences complex software system developers’ work experiences through the lens of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). We report findings from a qualitative interview study with 14 developers involved in complex software system development that focused on consistency management and conflict resolution. Our results show that AI use is perceived to enhance developers’ capabilities, while simultaneously increasing expectations regarding speed and quality of implementation. However, these benefits are accompanied by a persistent need for human oversight to ensure consistency and alignment with complex software systems. Furthermore, AI introduces tensions within development teams which have implications for consistency management. We discuss future research opportunities for the design of AI-based tools that support developers’ self-determination and how to support the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness in complex software system development environments.
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Schadow et al. (2026) studied this question.
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