Who is using AI to code? Global diffusion and impact of generative AI

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Main Authors: Daniotti, Simone, Wachs, Johannes, Feng, Xiangnan, Neffke, Frank
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Daniotti, Simone
Wachs, Johannes
Feng, Xiangnan
Neffke, Frank
author_facet Daniotti, Simone
Wachs, Johannes
Feng, Xiangnan
Neffke, Frank
contents Generative coding tools promise big productivity gains, but uneven uptake could widen skill and income gaps. We train a neural classifier to spot AI-generated Python functions in over 30 million GitHub commits by 170,000 developers, tracking how fast -- and where -- these tools take hold. Today, AI writes an estimated 29% of Python functions in the US, a modest and shrinking lead over other countries. We estimate that quarterly output, measured in online code contributions, has increased by 3.6% because of this. Our evidence suggests that programmers using AI may also more readily expand into new domains of software development. However, experienced programmers capture nearly all of these productivity and exploration gains, widening rather than closing the skill gap.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_08945
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Who is using AI to code? Global diffusion and impact of generative AI
Daniotti, Simone
Wachs, Johannes
Feng, Xiangnan
Neffke, Frank
Computers and Society
Software Engineering
Physics and Society
Generative coding tools promise big productivity gains, but uneven uptake could widen skill and income gaps. We train a neural classifier to spot AI-generated Python functions in over 30 million GitHub commits by 170,000 developers, tracking how fast -- and where -- these tools take hold. Today, AI writes an estimated 29% of Python functions in the US, a modest and shrinking lead over other countries. We estimate that quarterly output, measured in online code contributions, has increased by 3.6% because of this. Our evidence suggests that programmers using AI may also more readily expand into new domains of software development. However, experienced programmers capture nearly all of these productivity and exploration gains, widening rather than closing the skill gap.
title Who is using AI to code? Global diffusion and impact of generative AI
topic Computers and Society
Software Engineering
Physics and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.08945