AI won't replace software engineers, will 'uplevel' skills: Microsoft's Brad Smith

Artificial intelligence should not replace software engineers or IT professionals but rather enhance their skills and creativity, Brad Smith, President of Microsoft Corporation said, addressing fears of widespread job losses in the tech sector.

In an interview, Smith, one of the highest-ranking executives in the Redmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft, spoke on IT services, job losses, and AI's impact on cognitive work, weighing in on one of the most intensely debated topics in the sector.

He said Microsoft's goal is to build technology that helps people get smarter.

AI, he explained, can take over repetitive coding tasks, freeing developers to focus on product design, architecture, testing, and security, effectively "upleveling" the software engineering profession.

Rather than reducing jobs, he argued, AI will make them more interesting and fulfilling, likely increasing demand for skilled professionals and boosting wages.

Smith expressed frustration, at times, with technology leaders who focus solely on building "machines that are smarter than people". He asserted that for Microsoft, the primary goal is to develop technology and machines that help people enhance their own abilities.

"We should always start by asking ourselves, what are we trying to accomplish?" Smith said, urging the industry to define clear objectives for AI, saying that while the technology should drive productivity and economic growth, it must specifically be aimed at creating higher-quality jobs. Achieving these results, he argued, depends entirely on making them a deliberate priority or outcome.

"The first thing we should always ask ourselves is, what's our goal? I do get frustrated at times when I hear technology leaders talk about how they want to build machines that are smarter than people. There is a role for machines that keep getting smarter, but our biggest goal is different from that," he said.

For Microsoft the goal is to make machines that help people get smarter.

"That's what technology can do when technology is at its best. So take that as the first piece, including in cognitive services," he said.

According to him, technology reaches its full potential when it enhances human interaction. Smith noted that AI can serve as a vital tool to improve how people listen, read, and speak.

Citing recent discussions with Indian government officials in Delhi around human communications, he highlighted the focus on technology's ability to bridge communication gaps, such as translating 22 different Indian languages, to help people better engage with one another.

"Now take that same concept and apply it to IT services. Think about software. How can we use AI to improve the creation of software? That's what we do at Microsoft. That's what people in the great Indian IT companies do as well. And the reality is, there's a lot we can do," he said.

As AI automates routine coding, it liberates developers to focus on higher-level tasks such as product design, system architecture, and project management, Smith said, adding that this shift also allows engineers to better oversee code testing and security, ensuring the final product aligns with their specific objectives.

"Now, when you think about it that way, I think it helps us look at what's really going on and what we should really want to see going on. We're not talking about using AI to replace software engineers, but we are talking about using AI to change the art of software engineering, to uplevel the people who are in this extraordinary and extraordinarily important profession," the senior Microsoft executive said.

To tune and sync the skill sets to address the jobs of future would be key, he said, pointing out that this may acutally result in higher salaries.

"Usually, when that happens, you find you want more people who can do this work. You're even willing to pay them more than in the past. Once again, in a way, we should always start by asking ourselves, what are we trying to accomplish? Yes, we want AI to improve productivity. Let's improve productivity and enhance economic growth, and create better jobs. I believe we can do that, but only if we say that needs to be our goal," he said, adding that governments have a role to play in amplifying these as desired outcomes and to "remind us that it is a goal worth pursuing".