AI and the Evolving Role of the Software Engineer: Evidencefrom Swedish Job Advertisements

Sammanfattning

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), particularlygenerative tools such as ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, isaltering software engineering (SE) practices by automatingdevelopment tasks. This study investigates how AIintegration influences skill requirements in the Swedish SEjob market. Using empirical methods to assess whether AIrelated skills, such as machine learning (ML) and naturallanguage processing (NLP), are becoming more substantialin SE job advertisements. A long-term analysis wasconducted on a dataset of Swedish job ads from the pastdecade. The methodology consisted of collecting archivedjob ads and identifying key terms to extract AI-related skillsand terminology to compare them over time.Results show a clear increase in both the frequency andvariety of AI-related concepts in recent years. This suggeststhat the competence of AI is becoming an integral part of themodern software engineer's expertise. Our findings provideempirical insight into the shifting expectations of SEspecialists, while also offering practical implications foreducational institutes and employers aiming to narrow thegap between academic curricula and employment.