Are all developers equally productive with AI? Not quite.
Bill Doerrfeld | January 20, 2026
My
latest on LeadDev covers a report that suggests AI tends to accelerate top performers
As it turns out, the engineers seeing the biggest gains from AI were top performers all along.
A new report from GitClear and GitKraken suggests that AI doesn't create great developers so much as it amplifies the senior engineers who already know how to use it effectively.
Today, I dig into the data and sync with Bill Harding on what the year-over-year metrics show, and why headline productivity gaps can be misleading.
This is my 3rd year in a row covering studies from GitClear and Harding on the state of AI in software engineering, and the results never fail to spark some interesting takeaways!
Other Blog Posts
Here are my slides from my opening keynote at Nordic APIs Summit 2026, exploring how AI agents are changing API interaction patterns.
My latest research for AI Security University looks at AI tools and resources for pen-testers, red teamers, and bug bounty hunters.
My commissioned feature for Arthur D. Little's PRISM publication analyzes the big shifts underway now that generating code is becoming trivial.
Was happy to participate as a speaker and moderator at SecureMaine on October 8th, 2026.
My latest for LeadDev interviews a Meta engineer who built an agentic system to optimize their capacity planning, leading to real power use savings.
I set out expecting to write an article about how every enterprise was jumping on trendy alternative or "neo" clouds. That ended up not being the case.
Join the virtual AI Pen-Testing Conference to explore how AI is changing penetration testing, red teaming, and the security testing of AI systems.
Counting down to Nordic APIs Summit 2026 in Stockholm, featuring 60+ speakers exploring agentic AI, APIs, MCP, and security.
I covered a Yale and GitHub report on LeadDev that explores developer attitudes on climate change and curbing IT waste.
Does your agent really need access to every tool call under the sun?
