The Competence Crisis: A Design Fiction on AI-Assisted Research in Software Engineering

TL;DR

This work addresses the competence crisis risk in AI-assisted software engineering research by using design fiction to illustrate how over-reliance on generative tools can erode deep domain knowledge and trust. It combines an near-future narrative with themes from an ICSE 2026 pre-survey to discuss how automated assistance affects verification, mentoring, and responsibility. The paper argues for a renewed emphasis on first-principles reasoning, verification literacy, and resilience in practice, guided by Value-Sensitive Design to keep human agency central. Its contributions include a concrete action plan for education, evaluation, and community norms to sustain technical grounding in an AI-mediated research ecosystem, with broad implications for citations, peer review, and research culture.

Abstract

Rising publication pressure and the routine use of generative AI tools are reshaping how software engineering research is produced, assessed, and taught. While these developments promise efficiency, they also raise concerns about skill degradation, responsibility, and trust in scholarly outputs. This vision paper employs Design Fiction as a methodological lens to examine how such concerns might materialise if current practices persist. Drawing on themes reported in a recent community survey, we construct a speculative artifact situated in a near future research setting. The fiction is used as an analytical device rather than a forecast, enabling reflection on how automated assistance might impede domain knowledge competence, verification, and mentoring practices. By presenting an intentionally unsettling scenario, the paper invites discussion on how the software engineering research community in the future will define proficiency, allocate responsibility, and support learning.