ICCK Journal of Software Engineering
ISSN: 3069-1834 (Online)
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TY - JOUR AU - Nazir, Moomna AU - Arif, Yasir PY - 2026 DA - 2026/01/27 TI - Is AI Code Generation Undermining Developers’ Problem‑Solving Skills? JO - ICCK Journal of Software Engineering T2 - ICCK Journal of Software Engineering JF - ICCK Journal of Software Engineering VL - 2 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 10 DO - 10.62762/JSE.2025.847963 UR - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JSE.2025.847963 KW - AI code generation KW - developer cognition KW - gitHub copilot KW - code automation KW - programming pedagogy AB - The rise of AI tools such as GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT has reshaped software development by providing substantial support for coding and debugging tasks. Although these tools enhance productivity and reduce routine workload, existing research has largely emphasized short-term efficiency gains, leaving their long-term cognitive and pedagogical effects insufficiently explored. This study investigates the cognitive trade-offs associated with sustained reliance on generative AI, with particular attention to students and junior developers. Recent empirical findings indicate that excessive dependence on AI assistance may weaken deep debugging skills, impede conceptual understanding, and challenge established educational practices in software engineering. To address these concerns, we synthesize empirical studies published since 2020 and draw on contemporary pedagogical theories to propose a structured framework for balanced AI integration. The proposed hybrid model shifts emphasis from full automation to a learning-oriented process that foregrounds exploration, human reasoning, and critical evaluation. It comprises three iterative phases—Detect (AI-assisted exploration), Engage (manual problem-solving and algorithmic reasoning), and Verify (AI-supported refinement)—designed to preserve core cognitive competencies while effectively leveraging automation. The study underscores the importance of aligning AI tool usage with pedagogical objectives, ensuring that system design promotes understanding rather than output generation alone. These findings have implications for curriculum design in computer science education and for industrial strategies aimed at sustaining developer expertise in increasingly automated environments. SN - 3069-1834 PB - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge LA - English ER -
@article{Nazir2026Is,
author = {Moomna Nazir and Yasir Arif},
title = {Is AI Code Generation Undermining Developers’ Problem‑Solving Skills?},
journal = {ICCK Journal of Software Engineering},
year = {2026},
volume = {2},
number = {1},
pages = {1-10},
doi = {10.62762/JSE.2025.847963},
url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JSE.2025.847963},
abstract = {The rise of AI tools such as GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT has reshaped software development by providing substantial support for coding and debugging tasks. Although these tools enhance productivity and reduce routine workload, existing research has largely emphasized short-term efficiency gains, leaving their long-term cognitive and pedagogical effects insufficiently explored. This study investigates the cognitive trade-offs associated with sustained reliance on generative AI, with particular attention to students and junior developers. Recent empirical findings indicate that excessive dependence on AI assistance may weaken deep debugging skills, impede conceptual understanding, and challenge established educational practices in software engineering. To address these concerns, we synthesize empirical studies published since 2020 and draw on contemporary pedagogical theories to propose a structured framework for balanced AI integration. The proposed hybrid model shifts emphasis from full automation to a learning-oriented process that foregrounds exploration, human reasoning, and critical evaluation. It comprises three iterative phases—Detect (AI-assisted exploration), Engage (manual problem-solving and algorithmic reasoning), and Verify (AI-supported refinement)—designed to preserve core cognitive competencies while effectively leveraging automation. The study underscores the importance of aligning AI tool usage with pedagogical objectives, ensuring that system design promotes understanding rather than output generation alone. These findings have implications for curriculum design in computer science education and for industrial strategies aimed at sustaining developer expertise in increasingly automated environments.},
keywords = {AI code generation, developer cognition, gitHub copilot, code automation, programming pedagogy},
issn = {3069-1834},
publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}
Copyright © 2026 by the Author(s). Published by Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. 
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