Inside the insights of Octopus Deploy’s experts on how AI is reshaping software development
Just over three years after ChatGPT’s debut, software development has been rewritten in real time. Whether you see it as a productivity catalyst or a new source of risk, generative AI has transformed how more than 4,000 software development organisations — customers of Octopus Deploy — approach coding, delivery, and team structure.
To understand this shift, we asked three senior voices at Octopus Deploy one question: Has GenAI made coding better or worse? Their answers reveal a nuanced picture: AI is powerful, but only as safe as the practices that surround it.
Bob Walker, Field CTO at Octopus Deploy, said:
“Software Development has become better and worse with the addition of ChatGPT. ChatGPT is an amplifier, it can amplify the best abilities of a coder, as well as amplify their worst.”
“Consider a circular saw. In the hands of an experienced professional, it can make them much more productive than using a handsaw. But that same tool can be extremely dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced user.”
“AI solves the blank page problem… The danger is believing AI is the end point of a solution, not the starting point.”
“Imagine having a phone that calls your partner 90% of the time, while 10% of the time calling your ex.”
John Bristowe, Community Director at Octopus Deploy, said:
“I don’t think software development is better or worse than it was before ChatGPT. It’s just different. We suddenly have a new set of tools and techniques, and we’re only beginning to understand how to use them effectively. It will take years for developers to work out the right patterns, workflows, and guardrails for AI-assisted development.”
“Onboarding is now smoother, codebases are easier to grok, and teams can maintain more consistent patterns when AI is applied effectively.”
“Yes, it can generate code that looks correct. But it can hide subtle and nasty bugs, security issues, or misused APIs.”
“Developers remain essential… as more of the mechanical work gets automated, we’ll do what we always do: move up the stack.”
Steve Fenton, Director of DevRel at Octopus and contributor to the DORA Community Guide, said:
“We’ve known for decades that software development is in crisis… There is a better way to develop software, represented by Continuous Delivery, but few organisations fully implement it.”
“I’m sure they find great benefits in these assistants. They are well educated to determine whether a tool helps or hinders their goals.”
“Assistants simply increase the rate at which they generate problems.”
“Without a solid approach to software delivery, AI is an unhealthy sticking plaster where a more surgical solution is needed.”
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