During a conversation with Mark Zuckerberg at Llamacon, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shared insights about AI’s growing role in software development. He noted, “I’d say maybe 20 to 30 percent of the code that is inside our repositories today in some of our projects is probably all generated by software,” referring to AI’s involvement in coding.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (Image credit: Tim Mosenfelder via Getty Images.)

Nadella emphasized that the AI is creating new code in various programming languages rather than modifying what already exists. He described the outputs from AI, particularly Python code, as “fantastic,” while suggesting that the results in C++ still need improvement.

Both Nadella and Zuckerberg expressed enthusiasm about the potential for AI coding tools, despite concerns regarding future job implications. Nadella’s prediction included a staggering 95% of Microsoft’s code potentially being AI-generated by 2030. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg did not provide a specific figure on how much AI-generated code Meta is currently utilizing.

Additional Insights

As AI continues to make inroads into software development, CTO Kevin Scott predicts that AI-generated code could dominate by 2030. Similarly, Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, mentioned their AI generates about 30% of the code for the search engine giant. Their conversation raises crucial questions about AI’s reliability and security, especially regarding dependencies and third-party libraries.

Both leaders aim for AI to enhance security in coding practices, but acknowledge risks associated with AI-generated outputs, such as introducing vulnerabilities through incomplete or inaccurate code.