OpenAI's new AI model likely to replace human software engineers

OpenAI is reportedly working on a new artificial intelligence (AI) agent called A-SWE (Agentic Software Engineer), which promises to revolutionise software development.

According to OpenAI chief financial officer (CFO) Sarah Friar, A-SWE will not only build apps but also handle quality assurance, bug testing, and documentation, hence tasks that human software engineers often dislike.

Friar described A-SWE as an AI agent that can take on tasks typically assigned to human software engineers, including building apps and performing quality assurance.

“The third (AI Agent) that is coming is what we call A-SWE… agentic software engineer. And this is not just augmenting the current software engineers in the workforce, which is kind of what we can do today through Copilot, but instead, it's an agentic software engineer that can build an app for you,” Friar noted.

However, OpenAI's history of making ambitious claims about its products has raised skepticism. The company's previous AI offerings, such as Deep Research, have been claimed as capable of replacing human research assistants, but concerns about accuracy and hallucinations remain.

Therefore, until A-SWE is tested and proven, its capabilities should be viewed with caution.

Notably, OpenAI’s rivals, including xAI and Perplexity, have also rolled out similar tools.