Devin AI: Will Devin AI Replace Software Engineers?

Author(s): UPDF

Originally published on Towards AI.

Imagine a world where writing complex code and creating websites is a work of a few hours! Devin AI is the groundbreaking AI agent capable of making this dream a reality.

Hailed as a premier AI software engineer, Devin AI has taken the world of software engineering by storm. This powerful AI is capable of running complex code with great precision and control.

Owing to its remarkable capabilities, many are left wondering whether this AI is here to replace or aid professionals in software engineering. If you’re one of them, we are here to help!

In this article, we will review Devin AI in-depth to gauge its potential to replace human skills in software engineering. As a bonus, we will also introduce some state-of-the-art AI tools you can use in place of Devin AI.

Let’s get started!

Part 1. What is Devin AI software?

Devin AI is a fully autonomous software engineer developed by Cognition, that can write complex code using a single text prompt. At the heart of Devin AI lies the purpose of streamlining engineering workflows by independently handling complex coding tasks. It is capable of planning, debugging, and executing intricate coding tasks on its own.

Moreover, Devin possesses advanced decision-making capabilities. While it can make coding errors, it has the ability to learn from experience and correct the mistakes. With its essential developer tools, Devin can collaborate actively with users and provide progress updates in real time.

If you do not like the end product, you can provide your feedback, and Devin will seamlessly incorporate it into the coding process. Devin excels in several tasks relevant to software engineering. Let’s explore what it is capable of below.

Part 2. What Can Devin AI Do?

Devin is trained to collaborate with the users in a manner similar to an engineering team member. It shows enthusiasm to solve the problem provided by the user and writes out a quick summary of how it will approach the problem to solve it. Once a project is completed, you can reassess the coding history timeline.

Here are some key features of Devin AI.

● Handles complex coding tasks such as creating and deploying websites.

● Contributes to production repositories, like the SWE-bench benchmark

● Ability to test its own coding work to screen for mistakes and correct them.

● Continuously learns new technologies and utilizes the knowledge for future tasks.

● Human-like coding workspace, including a planner, browser, shell, and code editor.

● Organizes the project intro step-by-step plan before starting its execution.

● Automatically gathers the context of a problem for analyzing and fixing it.

● Take on real jobs, like writing and debugging code for computer vision models.

Now you know some of Devin AI's standout capabilities. Read on to find out how to access or hire Devin AI as your new team member!

Part 3. How to Access Devin AI?

As of now, Devin AI is still in its early access phase. So, it is only accessible to a few developers who are reviewing and testing the tool to gauge its capabilities. However, anyone can request early access by filling out the form to join the waitlist.

Let’s find out how to get early access to Devin with the following simple steps.

Step 1

Go to the Cognition Labs website and click on the provided “Join the waitlist” link. It will direct you to the Google Form to request access to Devin for engineering work.

Step 2

Now, fill out the form by selecting your email ID and providing information about your purpose, LinkedIn profile, Twitter, and company.

Step 3

Lastly, write a detailed and specific prompt for Devin to use. This can help you get off the waitlist earlier.

Step 4

Once you’re all done, click on the “Submit” button to join the waitlist.

After submitting the access request, it will be reviewed by the Cognition team. If they consider the purpose of the request useful, your request will join the waitlist. While you wait to access Devin, let’s explore how to use it below.

Part 4. How to Use Devin Ai?

Unlike ChatGPT which can help in minor coding tasks, Devin AI can be used as an advanced coding assistant. Before learning how to use it, it’s important to understand its dashboard. Devin’s user interface is divided into two main sections.

The left section is the area to input text prompts and chat with Devin. The area on the right is named Devin’s Workspace and this is where all the magic happens! It is categorized into four areas including shell, browser, editor, and planner, basically, all the tools a professional developer needs for coding.

Steps to Use Devin AI

While you can customize the prompts to use Devin for different coding tasks, the process to operate it is mostly the same for all. Here are the steps to use Devin AI.

Step 1

Provide the information about your task to Devin using a text prompt. For instance, you can prompt it to create a website that simulates a game.

Step 2

Devin will respond to your request and interrogate you to gather more specific details. Provide the relevant information to Devin using the text prompt.

Step 3

Now, Devin will briefly state the process and start creating a new react application using the Shell. Then it will start writing out the code in its “Editor.”

Step 4

Wait till Devin is done creating the website. It will notify you about it with a message providing the link to the website and the Netlify site token.

Step 5

Click on the URL to visit the created website. If you want to add more details to the website, provide the relevant prompt to Devin and it will do it instantly.

Step 6

If you experience bugs like a frozen screen, tell Devin about it and ask it to fix it.

That’s all. Now you have created a new website with Devin. You can customize and add new features to it using the text prompts. Whatever it is you need, Devin handles it all.

Part 6. Is Devin AI Released?

Devin AI has not been publicly released as of now. It is still undergoing a testing phase to further refine and gauge its capabilities. Very few developers and software engineers have gained access to the AI tool for the purpose of reviewing it.

It is hard to specify the possible release date for Devin AI for now. But, you can join the waitlist by filling out the early access form. And while you wait to get your hands on this remarkable AI tool, why not explore some other AI code writers?

Read on to explore the five best Devin AI alternatives.

Part 7. 5 Best Devin AI Software Alternatives to Use Now

Ever since the announcement of Devin AI, programmers cannot wait to get their hands on this advanced AI software engineer. However, Devin AI is still far from reach. You cannot use it right now to write code and fix bugs in the programs. But don’t worry! Several other AI tools can help you handle your coding tasks productively.

On that note, here are some of the best tools to write code with the power of AI.

1. ChatGPT

The pioneer in generative AI tools, ChatGPT by OpenAI is a great tool for programmers to write and rewrite code. It works by analyzing the text prompts as input to generate code for specific tasks. ChatGPT is suitable for writing basic code. However, programmers can also utilize it for assistance in complex coding tasks such as researching code libraries, writing example code, etc.

2. UPDF AI

UPDF AI is a powerful AI assistant that offers productive solutions to streamline document workflows. You can use it to analyze, write, and rewrite code and convert it into an HTML or XML file. Apart from coding, you can use it to directly summarize, translate, explain, and write diverse forms of content across all professions.

3. Google Gemini

Google’s Gemini provides a powerful code assist for developers and programmers. With its coding capabilities. Gemini can generate new code and debug the existing one in a snap. A highlight of this AI tool is its; ability to learn different types of coding styles. It can also assist developers write code in various languages such as JavaScript, C++, Python, etc.

4. Copilot

Microsoft’s Copilot is another great coding assistance for programmers and developers. It provides real-time code suggestions based on the context of prompts. Copilot can understand coding patterns and supports multiple programming languages. It can be integrated into popular coding tools such as Visual Studio Code with remarkable ease.

5. Poe

Poe is a hub of popular and featured AI bots including GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, and more. It has several coding AI agents to assist developers throughout the software development process. Its diverse AI bots can analyze code, understand context, and provide coding solutions. You can also create your own chatbot in a few clicks with Poe.

So, these are some of the Devin AI alternatives you can use for your coding tasks! Now, let’s explore some example prompts to use for Devin AI.

Example Prompts for Devin AI You Can Use

As you wait to access Devin AI, you can practice your code prompts using the alternatives mentioned earlier. Here are some examples to write, debug, and explain codes using these tools.

To Write Code

● Develop a [language] class to model a [real-world object] using these properties: [Add the list of properties].

● Generate a [language] function to carry out [task] using [library] with these inputs: [Add input variables].

To Debug Code

● Please review the style and best practices of this [language] code for: [Add the code snippet].

● Identify the potential security issues in the following [language] code: [Add the code snippet] related to [specific vulnerability].

To Explain Code

● Help me understand how this [language] data structure implementation works: [code snippet].

● Can you break down how this [language] function: [code snippet] works? Explain how it uses [specific feature] to carry out [specific task]

Now, let’s move forward and answer the question you’ve been waiting for!

Final Thoughts: Will Devin AI Replace Software Engineers?

According to Cognition, Devin AI can be used as an efficient collaborator who can work independently or with other programmers. The tutorials of Devin AI also highlighted that it can run into errors during the coding process.

Moreover, it may fail to properly follow the user prompts when developing code for a website. In that case, Devin is dependent on an experienced software engineer to point out and tackle the mistake. Similar to any other AI tool, Devin depends on proficient human users to maximize its potential.

In light of that, we can safely say that Devin AI cannot replace the software engineers. It is an advanced coding solution set to push the boundaries of software engineering and open the doors to productive workflows.

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Published via Towards AI