AI in Software Engineering: Perceived Roles and Their Impact on Adoption

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zakharov, Ilya, Koshchenko, Ekaterina, Sergeyuk, Agnia
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866912352975192064
author Zakharov, Ilya
Koshchenko, Ekaterina
Sergeyuk, Agnia
author_facet Zakharov, Ilya
Koshchenko, Ekaterina
Sergeyuk, Agnia
contents This paper investigates how developers conceptualize AI-powered Development Tools and how these role attributions influence technology acceptance. Through qualitative analysis of 38 interviews and a quantitative survey with 102 participants, we identify two primary Mental Models: AI as an inanimate tool and AI as a human-like teammate. Factor analysis further groups AI roles into Support Roles (e.g., assistant, reference guide) and Expert Roles (e.g., advisor, problem solver). We find that assigning multiple roles to AI correlates positively with Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use, indicating that diverse conceptualizations enhance AI adoption. These insights suggest that AI4SE tools should accommodate varying user expectations through adaptive design strategies that align with different Mental Models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_20329
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle AI in Software Engineering: Perceived Roles and Their Impact on Adoption
Zakharov, Ilya
Koshchenko, Ekaterina
Sergeyuk, Agnia
Software Engineering
Human-Computer Interaction
This paper investigates how developers conceptualize AI-powered Development Tools and how these role attributions influence technology acceptance. Through qualitative analysis of 38 interviews and a quantitative survey with 102 participants, we identify two primary Mental Models: AI as an inanimate tool and AI as a human-like teammate. Factor analysis further groups AI roles into Support Roles (e.g., assistant, reference guide) and Expert Roles (e.g., advisor, problem solver). We find that assigning multiple roles to AI correlates positively with Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use, indicating that diverse conceptualizations enhance AI adoption. These insights suggest that AI4SE tools should accommodate varying user expectations through adaptive design strategies that align with different Mental Models.
title AI in Software Engineering: Perceived Roles and Their Impact on Adoption
topic Software Engineering
Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.20329