Artificial Intelligence (AI) is quickly entering almost every aspect of our lives. One area where AI is being rapidly adopted is in the world of programming and development.

Developers today often just tell AI what they need code to do, what language they want it written in, and hit enter. From there, the developers can review and test the code to make sure it works properly, and then implement it into production systems.

Google is one of the largest tech companies in the world, and in their Q3, 2024 earnings call, they really leaned into the fact that they were using AI throughout the company. In fact, CEO Sundar Pichai commented specifically that 25% of new code going into Google’s systems is generated by AI:

“Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster.”

There is some question as to how much of an efficiency boost this really provides. After all, developers need to put in the right prompts to their AI programmers, and then carefully review the code that is generated. If (or when) problems are found, the developers either need to manually correct it, or go back to AI to make the changes.

Some people would argue that it is actually more efficient to just have humans do the developing from beginning to end. Whether that is true or not today, it is clear that AI will be handling the bulk of coding in the future, so it likely makes sense for companies like Google to get ahead of the trend.

Pichai also talked about how their AI search results are being used by users to get faster answers to their search question. He said:

“We’re seeing strong engagement, which is increasing overall search usage and user satisfaction.”

The small AI results at the top of most searches today are generally seen as a positive thing, though there are some people who don’t like the update. AI, after all, is not infallible and can sometimes produce inaccurate (or just made up) results.

In addition, Google is working on finding the right balance between providing just results and displaying the ads that pay their bills. Some people complain that AI results include too many ads, though this was not commented on in the earnings release.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.