I am starting a series of posts on lessons learned using GenAI for code development. I welcome you comments and rebuttals. The overarching message is that GenAI must be managed like a consultant who was brought in to augment a software development team. The consultant must be constantly measured for effectiveness. As consultants can be temporary, a concerted effort must be pursued to ensure that their code can be maintained if they leave or are replaced with a new consultant.
If I were a professor or educator, I would strongly consider adding this to my AI curriculum, as I think this will make college hires attractive to employers. The entry-level software developer and computer engineer must be able to design and develop with AI as their teammate. Essentially, they enter the workforce with the same impact and productivity as today's mid-career employee.
I think you will find that if you use this construct, you can apply lessons learned from existing business-to-consultant best practices apply with GenAI as well. For example, as today's consultant may work for a competitor tomorrow, a best practice is to limit sensitive knowledge provided to the consultant. By protecting "the crown jewels," you limit the potential for leaks and data loss. While the GenAI service, whether it be ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Grok, may already have guardrails in place, you can never be certain that there are not bugs, leaks, or discovery disclosures. You want to rely on your guardrails, not the consultants.
Another best practice - consultants seek to maintain current business or attract new business. It is well-noted that GenAI can be near sycophantic. You should always take GenAI's commentary with a grain of salt, especially if the comment could be a hallucination. If GenAI tells you, "That is a unique product idea," ask it to verify before you patent or protect the idea. I have found that if you follow with a deep research verification, sometimes it is unique, other times not.
Another consideration - what aspect of the software do you want to be solely your own, so that you have "clear title?" I wrote and reviewed this without AI as I want these words to be my own, grammar mistakes and all.