Like others, where authorized, we have adopted AI in support of our work here at DMS Group. We have witnessed its continued improvement going from strength to strength. Recently while developing a ASP NET core MVC site for a client we observed a pesky script error that effectively blocked the output of the google map it was supposed to generate as part of the page.

The server code and client script looked syntactically correct. 15 minutes of frustration led us to put this prompt in the copilot chat of Visual Studio Code:

To be fair our expectations were low and we fully expected to continue debugging but lo and behold GitHub Copilot (GHCP) worked its magic. Its response came back as follows:

What impressed us, was that this was a more subtle error in that copilot had to ascertain that the server code and client scripts were coming together runtime and in an order that was going to cause errors on the client side. GHCP not only pointed at the issue but provided a fix and a diff file. Having examined the proposed change and deployed it, ‘voila!’ the code functioned as desired. As a bonus mark it also removed a stray variable, not asked for but cute nonetheless.

Kudos to GHCP and a timely reminder as to the power of AI in our daily work. While this may have been fixed quickly, it could easily taken an hour before the a-ha moment. This is an example of the kind of valuable productivity improvements waiting to be tapped in by all of us.

The future…

We’re aware that many raise the prospect of AI replacing developers altogether. We do not think that’s viable now and may never make sense. Other leaders in the industry appear to agree, notably Scott Hanselman & Mark Russinovich, see their insightful discussion here: https://youtu.be/7FhoUAidsFg?si=AcaMluOADc_xxASP. Finally unrealistic expectations (like firing all developers) risks missing the tangible benefits that are available today, like the productivity gains exampled above.

If DMS can help you with your own custom software needs, reach out. This is core to our service offerings and we’d be happy to assist.