Generative AI Assistants in Software Development Education: A vision for integrating Generative AI into educational practice, not instinctively defending against it.

The software development industry is amid another disruptive paradigm change—adopting the use of generative AI (GAI) assistants for programming. Whilst AI is already used in various areas of software engineering [1], GAI technologies, such as GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT, have ignited peoples’ imaginations (and fears [2]). It is unclear how the industry will adapt, but the move to integrate these technologies by large software companies, such as Microsoft (GitHub ¹ , Bing ² ) and Google (Bard ³ ), is a clear indication of intent and direction. We performed exploratory interviews with industry professionals to understand current practice and challenges, which we incorporate into our vision of a future of software development education and make some pedagogical recommendations.