Josh Fruhlinger
Contributing Writer

GenAI is my copilot? Developers weigh pains and gains

analysis
Feb 21, 20253 mins

In this month's report: Software developers and technology leaders are embracing generative AI, but not everyone is happy about it.

Bearded man glares at mobile phone in his hand.
Credit: pathdoc / Shutterstock

Developers are quicker than most to embrace generative AI tools as part of their workflow. That can mean enhanced productivity and easing cognitive burdens, but it also means learning new technologies while they’re still being built. This month’s report spotlights some of the best news and advice we’ve seen for developers navigating the craze for AI-driven development.

Top picks for generative AI readers on InfoWorld

Generative AI vs. the software developer
If you’re worried genAI is about to replace you, don’t be. There’s plenty you can doβ€”and should doβ€”before that happens.

What you need to know about developing AI agents
You can think of AI agents as programmatic APIs wrapped inside a natural language chatbot, but that’s only the beginning. Here’s a first look at AI agents and what you’ll need to build them yourself.

GitHub Copilot previews agent mode
Speaking of agents, GitHub is pushing more autonomy into its Copilot AI coding assistant. Some of these features are already rolled into VS Code’s version of Copilot.

How to keep AI hallucinations from ruining your code
AI hallucinations can infect your codebase if you aren’t carefulβ€”and there go all your productivity gains. Here’s a great set of tips for quickly spotting AI hallucinations in your code, or just preventing them in the first place.

Not seeing ROI from your AI? Observability may be the missing link
Observability tools already monitor and fine-tune complex codebases and server and cloud platforms, so why not use them for AI?

More good reads and generative AI updates

Game developers are getting fed up with their bosses’ AI initiatives
It turns out AI doesn’t always lighten the developer workload. Wired spoke to video game developers working longer hours under tighter deadlines, all thanks to AI-assisted productivity boosts.

Can AI help managers love their jobs (again)?
Developers promoted into management often struggle to balance leading the team versus doing what they love. This study from Harvard Business School suggests ways genAI tools could help.

How genAI impacts critical thinking (tl;dr: It’s not looking good)
Is artificial intelligence eroding human intelligence? This research from Microsoft counts the ways AI is changing how we think.

Josh Fruhlinger

Josh Fruhlinger is a writer and editor who has been covering technology since the first dot-com boom. His interests include cybersecurity, programming tools and techniques, internet and open source culture, and what causes tech projects to fail. He won a 2025 AZBEE Award for a feature article on refactoring AI code and his coverage of generative AI earned him a Jesse H. Neal Award in 2024. In 2015 he published The Enthusiast, a novel about what happens when online fan communities collide with corporate marketing schemes. He lives in Los Angeles.

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