Can AI truly replace your Job? : The case of Devin

In March 2023, a new AI research lab called Cognition Labs released a video on YouTube introducing their newest product; Devin, the so-called “first autonomous AI software engineer”. The preview of the product produced quite a sensation, mainly because Devin’s abilities were shown to be on par with that of a software engineer. 

Equipped with the ability to write, edit, and debug code, Devin can perform coding tasks with greater accuracy than other AI models. What truly made Devin the talk of the town was that it was able to accept gigs on Upwork and earn money by completing software engineering tasks. As always with every AI product, the talk of ‘replacement’ also took center stage. Videos with titles like  “AI is going to REPLACE Software Engineers” were flooding our timelines. Now that three months have passed, we can ask the question “Where is Devin now?” and the answer we get is…crickets. Once again, the AI market has (probably intentionally) fallen victim to the specter of hype.