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Computer Science > Software Engineering

arXiv:2512.14012 (cs)
[Submitted on 16 Dec 2025]

Title:Professional Software Developers Don't Vibe, They Control: AI
Agent Use for Coding in 2025

Authors:Ruanqianqian Huang, Avery Reyna, Sorin Lerner, Haijun Xia,
Brian Hempel
View a PDF of the paper titled Professional Software Developers Don't
Vibe, They Control: AI Agent Use for Coding in 2025, by Ruanqianqian
Huang and 4 other authors
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    Abstract:The rise of AI agents is transforming how software can
    be built. The promise of agents is that developers might write
    code quicker, delegate multiple tasks to different agents, and
    even write a full piece of software purely out of natural
    language. In reality, what roles agents play in professional
    software development remains in question. This paper investigates
    how experienced developers use agents in building software,
    including their motivations, strategies, task suitability, and
    sentiments. Through field observations (N=13) and qualitative
    surveys (N=99), we find that while experienced developers value
    agents as a productivity boost, they retain their agency in
    software design and implementation out of insistence on
    fundamental software quality attributes, employing strategies for
    controlling agent behavior leveraging their expertise. In
    addition, experienced developers feel overall positive about
    incorporating agents into software development given their
    confidence in complementing the agents' limitations. Our results
    shed light on the value of software development best practices in
    effective use of agents, suggest the kinds of tasks for which
    agents may be suitable, and point towards future opportunities
    for better agentic interfaces and agentic use guidelines.

Subjects: Software Engineering (cs.SE); Artificial Intelligence
          (cs.AI); Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC)
Cite as:  arXiv:2512.14012 [cs.SE]
          (or arXiv:2512.14012v1 [cs.SE] for this version)
          https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2512.14012
          Focus to learn more
          arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

Submission history

From: Brian Hempel [view email]
[v1] Tue, 16 Dec 2025 02:15:06 UTC (941 KB)
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    Don't Vibe, They Control: AI Agent Use for Coding in 2025, by
    Ruanqianqian Huang and 4 other authors
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