“20-30% of the Code…Written by Software” Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Surges as Human Connection to Code Crumbles

TipRanks ^ | 05/03/2025 | Steve Anderson

[SeekAndFind]

A bit of a surprise for you as you enter your weekend: somewhere around 20% to 30% of Microsoft’s code in “repos”, according to CEO Satya Nadella, is written by artificial intelligence (AI).

This is, perhaps, not quite as surprising as it could be—at Meta Platforms , it is actually closer to half—but it still made investors take notice. Shares of Microsoft gained nearly 2.5% in the closing minutes of Friday’s trading.

While at LlamaCon, Nadella noted the figure in question, and noted that that number was not standing still, either. In fact, the proportion of code written by AI was on the rise, with Nadella believing that code might hit as high as 40% at some point. Nadella noted that AI does better writing brand new code than it does modifying old code, which at least suggests that some of Microsoft’s coders will be able to keep their jobs.

Interestingly, neither Nadella nor Mark Zuckerberg, who was also on hand, were willing to talk about job losses that might stem from having machines write your software for you. Though they did bring up the notion of “evolving roles,” where coders become less like coders and more like managers, dispatching their little armies of AI drones to do various tasks. Whether or not Microsoft or Meta would need the same numbers of these new managers, however, came up.

Xbox Series Pricier

Meanwhile, console gamers will be disturbed to note that, as we wait for the next generation of console gaming to arrive, the current generation of console gaming will actually get more expensive. Normally, as hardware ages, it gets cheaper. But Microsoft, citing increasing development costs, noted that Xbox hardware would get more expensive.

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TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Society
KEYWORDS: ai; coding; microsoft; software

[Paladin2]

Who uses M$ s/w?

[lee martell]

So, telling somebody to ‘learn to Code!’ doesn’t mean what it did, not too long ago. The reliable Lifeboat has sprung a leak. Not that I ever learned to Code, or seriously tried.

[sten]

if you have ‘developers’ that are using a bot to generate their work...

you don’t have developers.

i’ve been writing software since 1977, professionally since 1984... the code produced by the AIs is about as good as you’d find on github, if you had access to everyone’s source (like chatgpt does).

if it had to create something new... it’d fail.

[SpaceBar]

Virtually all semiconductor chip design now is fully automated. The designer simply chooses the specifications, and the rest is performed by computer. It’s been done that way for years actually.

[DoodleBob]

[E. Pluribus Unum]

There will be unintended consequences of this that will bite them in the Obama when they least expect it, and they’ll never be able to fix it because no one will understand the code, not even AI.

[Dr. Sivana]

they’ll never be able to fix it because no one will understand the code, not even AI.

The AI will likely be able to document the code. Humans often don't, or do so poorly.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The AI will likely be able to document the code. Humans often don't, or do so poorly.

Lawyers have been using AI to write court briefs complete with imaginary case law that it manufactures from whole cloth.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/lawyers-use-ai-to-write-brief-with-fictional-cases-us-judge-finds-30-mistakes-8264167

Good luck with your AI "documentation."

[jroehl]

So now I will continue to be unemployed along with the Indians that made me unemployed?

[Myrddin]

I've been writing software since 1978. It has become orders of magnitude more complex over time. Multiple operating systems and languages. Morphing from dedicated mainframe software with simple user terminals to fat applications on a PC desktop, then to network served applications presented on a browser. Chasing the skill sets is a continuous process if you want to stay employed and relevant. Eventually, you find yourself in my boat. A broad range of skills in high demand, but those who want it are unable to pay for it. I'll be retired inside of a month. Long lists of things desired by the customer, but unfunded will go on backlog. The next contract competition will occur in 4 years. Perhaps the customer will have the foresight to fund development of those wants. The environment is a mix of 30 formerly stand-alone web applications that have been pulled under one umbrella and packaged into kubernetes pods with microservice interactions. Most of the team has worked on the individual systems over the last 30 year time span. The "corporate knowledge" needed to morph the old systems into the new paradigm is considerable and the parties who can do it are aging out and/or retiring. AI won't get a bite at the apple because it's all classified systems.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I still use Word and Excel. Unfortunately, their subscription model now costs me $130/year for a family plan. Ugh. You used to own it and upgrade ever five years or so. This is a LOT more expensive now.

[SpaceBar]

And yet if you ask a modern programmer what a binary heap is or how Dijkstra’s algorithm works they just look at you with a blank stare.

[T.B. Yoits]

If you can use Microsoft Office Home Edition, it's available as a standalone purchase from Microsoft for $149.99.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/office-home-2024/CFQ7TTC0PQVJ

[Dr. Sivana]

Good luck with your AI "documentation."

I have made several threads here showing horrible, obvious mistakes of AI. I am aware of its its limitations.

However, single purpose AI (e.g. medical diagnoses, programming) is not as bad and getting better.

I never said you don't have to check the work and debug.

[kawhill]

I’m so old I dealt with this: A SOC7 abend, or data exception, usually indicates an issue with numeric data, particularly in COBOL or other mainframe programming contexts. It occurs when a field intended for numeric values contains non-numeric data or is used in a calculation before being initialized. Common causes include uninitialized indexes, incorrect field overlaps in packed decimal arithmetic, or using a packed decimal field that doesn’t contain a valid value.

[House Atreides]

“I still use Word and Excel. Unfortunately, their subscription model now costs me $130/year for a family plan. Ugh. You used to own it and upgrade ever five years or so. This is a LOT more expensive now.”
*************************************************

On principle I refuse to pay for the subscriptions. I transitioned to using the Apple counterparts. I particularly loved and was very proficient in Excel and was knowledgeable about numerous available Excel “hacks”. It took some time and effort to develop a corresponding level of proficiency in Apple Numbers. But developing those new skills was well worth the effort IMHO.

[PastorBooks]

You said, “I still use Word and Excel. Unfortunately, their subscription model now costs me $130/year for a family plan.”

OpenOffice and LibreOffice can both work with Microsoft Word and Excel documents and spreadsheets. They are open source and free.

They may have trouble if you are using something fancy like Excel macros. For most files they can read, edit and save just like Word or Excel.

LibreOffice: https://www.libreoffice.org/

OpenOffice: https://www.openoffice.org/

Libreoffice is a “fork” of the older OpenOffice. I’m not sure which one is considered the better one these days.

[thinden]

MS alt bump

[Gene Eric]

>> the code produced by the AIs is about as good as you’d find on github

not yet — AI does not currently function independently of experts

but how many are ultimately inconsequential going forward?

it’s a vertical issue where both management & coders will eventually lose their grip on the very nebulous industry of software development