Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing the software industry. Around 50 experts from research and practice discussed how AI is changing software development, quality requirements and skills profiles at the “Software Engineering Live” workshop in Kitzbühel on March 19 and 20. With the University of Innsbruck, a strong Tyrolean partner of the Austria-wide AI Factory, the Austria AI:AT consortium was prominently represented.
Ruth Breu, Professor of Computer Science and Head of the Quality Engineering Research Group at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Innsbruck, played a central role. This gave Tyrolean research expertise a clearly visible face at the workshop.
What skills will be needed in the future?
The discussions focused on the question of how AI is changing the way software is created – and what consequences this has for developers, companies and training paths. Experience reports and demonstrations of AI-supported tools painted a clear picture: even if AI generation is rapidly gaining in performance, software development cannot simply be fully automated. Architecture decisions, requirements, tests, quality assurance and the responsible evaluation of results in particular remain central human tasks.
“New skills are needed to control AI generation and to evaluate and improve the results produced”, Breu highlighted.
From code generation to quality responsibility
This is a key message for students, companies and the regional innovation hub of Tyrol: software engineering is becoming even more relevant – albeit with a different focus. Anyone who wants to develop successful digital products in the future will not only need technical skills, but also the ability to critically classify AI systems, precisely formulate requirements and ensure quality under real-life conditions.
The workshop made it clear on several occasions that the debate is not limited to enthusiasm for technology. There was agreement that good software development is much more than just generating code, even in the age of generative AI. Good architecture, reliable requirements, accurate test cases and traceable quality remain the basis of trustworthy systems.
Hans Egermaier put it in a nutshell: AI is “no fairy dust” – success depends crucially on clear requirements, human expertise and a systematic approach. The same applies to generative AI: “A good question is a good answer.” The quality of the output is directly linked to the precision, contextual depth and clarity of the input.
Tyrolean practice shows how quickly job profiles change
How concretely this change has already arrived in companies was also shown by the perspective from Tyrol’s software industry. CASABLANCA hotelsoftware described how autonomous AI agents are already taking over routine tasks from code generation to testing – with noticeable effects on role profiles, working methods and qualification requirements.
“As a Tyrolean software company with over 2,000 hotel customers, we are experiencing the AI transformation first-hand: autonomous AI agents are increasingly taking on routine tasks – from code generation to testing. This is shifting the crucial skills of our developers: away from pure programming and towards orchestrating, evaluating and responsibly controlling AI systems”, Maximilian Ehrhart, Head of Research, CASABLANCA hotelsoftware, said.
For export-oriented technology companies in Tyrol in particular, this makes it clear that competitiveness in the future will not only come from the use of new tools, but also from the ability to bring together research, application knowledge and the responsible use of AI. Events such as “Software Engineering Live” create a space in which state-of-the-art research and real-life practice come together.
AI Factory Austria AI:AT: Thinking research, infrastructure and implementation together
Michael Löffler, expert for trustworthy AI at the AI Factory Austria AI:AT, also emphasized the larger strategic perspective. In his view, new opportunities are emerging for Europe as a software location – especially where data sovereignty, IT security, data protection and ethical standards are not seen as an obstacle, but as a quality feature.
“New perspectives are emerging for Europe as a software location. Europe can play a leading role, particularly in sensitive areas such as data sovereignty, IT security, data protection and ethical standards” Michael Löffler, expert for trustworthy AI, AI Factory Austria AI:AT, mentioned.
The workshop in Kitzbühel thus also made visible what the AI Factory Austria AI:AT stands for: as a market-neutral, independent access point for sophisticated AI projects that brings together infrastructure access, hands-on expertise, competence development and ecosystem networking. For Tyrol, the University of Innsbruck is a particularly important partner in the Austria-wide consortium – as a scientific force in software engineering as well as a bridge to regional companies and fields of application.
As a national AI Factory within the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, AI:AT supports companies, research institutions, start-ups and public administration in putting AI into practice effectively and responsibly. To this end, the initiative combines access to European high-performance computing resources with consulting, training and enablement formats as well as targeted networking with the right partners in the ecosystem.
The signal from Kitzbühel is therefore clear: AI is becoming the central tool in software development – but humans remain responsible for quality, classification, security and trustworthy use. It is precisely at this interface between research, qualification and implementation that the AI Factory Austria AI:AT and strong partners such as the University of Innsbruck come into play.
(Ruth Breu, Daniel Pepl)
About the AI Factory Austria AI:AT
The AI Factory Austria AI:AT is Austria’s national AI Factory within the framework of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. It is jointly managed by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and Advanced Computing Austria (ACA) and implemented by an Austria-wide consortium.
The partners in the consortium are: TU Wien, University of Vienna, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), University of Innsbruck, TU Graz, Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU), Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), INiTS – Vienna’s High-Tech Incubator and EODC – Earth Observation Data Center for Water Resources Monitoring GmbH. AI:AT combines AI-optimized high-performance infrastructure with a physical hub and supports organizations from business, public administration and applied research as a market-neutral, independent access point along the AI journey, from the first use case to practical implementation.