A recent study found that an AI chatbot-powered software company could develop software in less than seven minutes for an average of less than $1 (symbolic image). Westend61 via getty images
In a recent study, researchers hired an AI-powered technology company to develop 70 different programs.
They found that AI software can be developed in under seven minutes for an average of less than a dollar.
The AI bots were assigned roles and were able to talk, make logical decisions, and troubleshoot.
This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor. We welcome feedback at the end of the article.
KI-Chatbots wie ChatGPT by OpenAI can run a software company efficiently and cost-effectively with minimal human involvement, according to a new study.
The results follow another study in which AI bots based on extensive language models were able to independently run a virtual city.
In the new study a team of researchers from Brown University and several Chinese universities conducted an experiment to find out whether AI bots based on a version of the ChatGPT model 3.5 can complete the software development process without prior training.
To test this, the researchers created a hypothetical software development company called ChatDev. Based on the waterfall model – a sequential approach to software development – the company was divided into four different phases in chronological order: design, coding, testing and documentation.
The researchers then assigned specific roles to the AI bots by providing each of them with “important details” that described the “assigned task and role, communication protocols, termination criteria and limitations.”
After the researchers assigned the AI bots their roles, each bot was assigned to its respective stages. For example, ChatDev’s “CEO” and “CTO” worked in the “Design” phase, while the “Programmer” and “Art Designer” worked in the “Coding” phase.
At each stage, the AI workers chatted with each other with minimal human input to complete specific parts of the software development process until the software was ready. This included processes from deciding which programming language to use to identifying errors in the code.
The researchers conducted the experiment with different software scenarios and applied a series of analyzes to determine how long ChatDev took to complete each type of software and how much each would cost.
The researchers commissioned ChatDev, for example, a simple so-called Gomoku game to design an abstract strategy board game also known as “Five in a Row”.
In the design phase, the CEO asked the CTO to “suggest a concrete programming language” that “meets the needs of the new user,” to which the CTO responded with Python. The CEO then said, “Great!” and explained that this programming language “is very popular among both beginners and experienced developers due to its simplicity and readability.”
After the CTO responded with “Let’s get started,” ChatDev moved on to the coding phase, where the CTO asked the programmer to write a file, after which the programmer asked the designer to give the software a “nice graphical user interface.”
After assigning 70 different tasks to ChatDev, the study found that the AI-powered company was able to complete the entire software development process “in less than seven minutes and at a cost of less than a dollar.” This all worked while simultaneously identifying and addressing “potential vulnerabilities” through his “memory” and “self-reflection skills.”
According to the study, 86.66 percent of the software systems generated were executed without errors. “Our experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the automated software development process controlled by CHATDev,” the researchers write in the study.
The researchers did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment before publishing this article.
The results of the study highlight one of the many ways in which powerful generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT can perform certain tasks. Since the AI chatbot was released in November last year, employees across industries have been using it at workto save time and to increase productivity.
Programmers in particular may find generative AI tools useful in their personal and professional lives. Daniel Dippold, a Berlin-based programmer, used ChatGPT to develop a program that helped him find an apartment, and Amazon employees were found to be using ChatGPT for software development.
The study isn’t perfect: The researchers found limitations, such as errors and biases in the language models, that could lead to problems when building software. Still, the researchers said the findings “could potentially help young programmers or engineers in the real world.”
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