From code to concern: A demographic analysis of AI challenges and ethics in IT development

This study explores the relationships between artificial intelligence (AI) usage in software development and the issues of confidence in code generated, ethical issues associated with AI usage, technical challenges of AI code development, and demographic differences related to these issues. AI is currently used in software development for a variety of purposes including coding, debugging, and code optimization and is generally viewed as a useful tool for programming. There are, however, significant issues associated with these usages. Our study uses the 2024 Stack Overflow Annual Developer Survey to explore AI adoption patterns, developer trust level, perceived technical and ethical challenges, and variations in areas by key demographic variables. We find important areas of concern both overall and by demographic category. These findings are relevant to both practitioners, researchers, and society. This paper contributes to the goal of optimization of AI productivity enhancement while addressing trust and ethical concerns.