OpenAI’s AI Agent Aims to Fully Replace Software Engineers

OpenAI’s AI Agent: OpenAI is working on a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that could change how software development works. The company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Sarah Friar recently announced that OpenAI is building an AI agent called A-SWE. This tool is designed to do everything a software engineer does — from writing code to testing and creating documentation.

OpenAI’s AI Agent:
Unlike current AI tools like Copilot, which help human programmers, A-SWE can work on its own. Friar shared this information at the Disruptive Technology Symposium in London. She explained that A-SWE will not just help developers but actually take over their entire role. It can develop applications, fix bugs, test software for errors and even write user manuals.

This project is part of OpenAI’s larger goal of creating “agentic AI” — tools that can act independently to complete complex tasks. Before A-SWE, OpenAI had already launched two such agents: Deep Research, which writes detailed research reports, and Operator, which handles online tasks like booking tickets or making reservations.

A-SWE enters a space where other companies are also making progress. Last year, a company called Cognition AI introduced Devin, another AI software engineer that can work with common development tools in a safe environment. These tools aim to do the same work that human engineers currently do.

Sarah Friar also shared that the latest version of OpenAI’s language model, GPT-4.5, has been trained not only for technical work but also to understand emotions. This makes it better suited for creative tasks like design and writing. Friar said the model feels more “human” and is better at understanding feelings which helps it work on creative projects beyond just math and science.

However, not everyone is fully comfortable with these advancements. A recent report by PYMNTS showed that more than half of the people surveyed believe AI could cause many jobs to disappear, especially in fields like software development.

In addition to AI development, OpenAI is expanding its infrastructure. The company is part of a $500 billion project called Stargate. This project aims to build large data centers for training and running AI models. Partners in this project include Oracle, Microsoft, SoftBank and others.

Friar compared this move to Amazon’s creation of AWS (Amazon Web Services). She said that just like Amazon benefited from building its own cloud service, OpenAI wants to control its own data infrastructure to avoid delays caused by a lack of computing power. For instance, the release of OpenAI’s video tool Sora was delayed by almost a year due to not having enough computing resources.

Stargate will generate around 10 gigawatts of computing power — more than the entire energy usage of Ireland. This massive power will support OpenAI’s growing needs especially as it now has 400 million weekly active users and continues to grow quickly.

While OpenAI is not planning to go public soon Friar said the company might consider it in the future. For now focus remains on building powerful AI tools and the infrastructure to support them.

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