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- Artificial Intelligence is increasingly used in industries all over the world.
- Web development is another segment where AI has seen great adoption.
- AI use for web development has pros like efficiency and scalability and cons like lack of creativity and potential for bias.
Artificial Intelligence has gained far greater momentum in the past couple of years, despite the technology being around for decades. According to the latest report of the McKinsey Global Survey on AI in business processes, there has been a surge in the annual growth of AI deployment compared to a more gradual one in the previous years.
This can be attributed to the developments in machine learning and deep learning driven by data science. However, where there are many advantages, there are also a few pitfalls that cannot be ignored.
Why and How is Artificial Intelligence Used in Web Development?
AI for web development has its pros and cons. The usage is seeing a surge due to the customizability of the technology. It has revolutionized the way websites and applications are designed, maintained and updated. One of the most attractive functions is the personalization of design, interface and features based on user data across various geographical locations, industrial sectors and personal identities.
The introduction of tools like Grid, Wix ADI, virtual assistants, chatbots, generative AI, etc. is being leveraged to develop APIs (Application Processing Interface), automate coding, assemble data, generate algorithms, etc. It is capable of analyzing enormous data sets, generating accurate and efficient code for use as a copilot, using DevOps tools, and deploying automation and version control. It is also used for automated testing and bug detection, Natural Language Processing and e-commerce and content recommendation systems.
Pros of Using Artificial Intelligence for Web Development
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Accuracy and efficiency
Machine processes eliminate the possibility of human error. It increases the overall seamlessness and efficiency by automating most of the manual tasks and allowing the developers to oversee the bigger picture of web development. It’s also greatly reduces the time taken for developing a website and increases efficiency. It keeps presenting inventive ways to solve complex problems effectively, faster and more accurately. Therefore, it will increase productivity.
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Personalization and customization
AI uses algorithms that display results based on existing data. This helps analyze user data on engagement, previous searches, user behavior, etc. to present outputs in a fully customized manner suited for various individuals. The website builders can also increase their functionality to provide a wide range of designs for the specific needs of different customers.
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Easy testing and quality assurance
There are AI-based web development models that use deep learning to detect possible bugs and resolve them beforehand. Companies are now reducing their budget allocation for quality assurance as the task is getting increasingly automated due to automated testing solutions.
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Data-driven decision-making
It eliminates human emotions and makes rational and accurate decisions as they are purely based on data. This also helps reduce the time consumed to make those decisions.
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Scalability and adaptability
Websites and codes generated by AI are dynamic, meaning they are highly adjustable. They can easily alter content, layouts, features, etc. as per user demands. AI tools can make algorithms scale up in size as well as complexity, which enables more processing power, better handling and a wide range of functions.
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Better UI-UX
It is generally seen that websites developed using AI have better user interfaces, enabling a better user experience. They can be more interactive and feedback-generating.
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Cost-effectiveness
It is a cost-effective solution for someone with a limited budget to just use AI to develop a website instead of employing and paying human developers.
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SEO-optimization
Many AI-developing bots are built in ways that can automatically program websites to be SEO-friendly or have a built-in toolkit to ensure SEO optimisation.
Cons of Using Artificial Intelligence for Web Development
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Lack of human creativity
AI may be highly advanced at performing mechanized tasks. But they lack the human touch, as it is the human emotional imprint that evokes relatability in users’ minds. So a website designed solely by AI will lack originality, expressiveness and artistic creativity. There is also a huge problem with the decision-making process for abstract positions. A machine is incapable of that because it requires context that goes beyond the purview of the available data.
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Heavy reliance on data availability
AI algorithms are completely dependent on the data provided to them. This opens the door for grassroots-level error possibilities that may eventually corrupt the entire system due to massive potential errors. Any wrong entry or illegitimate data will lead to a cascade of irreversible and faulty outcomes. This leaves no scope for errors in the constant revisions, updates or accuracy of the data being fed. Maintaining diverse and reliable datasets can be a challenging task, as it is very human-dependent.
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Bias and discrimination
Because of a lack of judgment mechanisms, AI is prone to biased information display due to its data-driven nature, as data could be biased and flawed. This again goes back to the problem of reliance on the data that is available. Societal inequalities lead to incomplete and inaccurate data as not everyone has the resources to participate in the dataset-building process. Hence, it would be fair to say that not all AIs are created equal. This poses the risk of perpetuating existing societal biases. This will result in unfair and discriminatory output.
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Inaccessibility due to its complex nature
Implementing AI for web development is not for everyone, as it requires technical expertise. Hence, it involves a learning curve and only highly skilled and specifically trained professionals can be used for the job. They will then develop and integrate AI algorithms and models and build upon them.
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Costs of creation and maintenance
Machines often may require high costs to procure and maintain long-term. This may be a problem for small-scale businesses. They may end up paying more for these AI tools than they can extract from them.
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Increased dependence of humans on machines
One of the biggest concerns regarding AI adoption is that humans will become increasingly dependent upon AI, resulting in a ceaseless growth of human intellect. This also leads to a lack of innovation, as the developers are not doing much and can’t use their imagination. In the long run, the entire software industry will be adversely impacted, and there will be a decrease in the overall quality of software.
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Unemployment and job displacement concerns
As AI tools become more advanced and capable, they will render a lot of developers jobless. Initially, the loss will be low as the machines are not capable of everything. But it’s a cycle building up as more deployment of AI means more data gathering by the machine, thereby enhancing the machine.
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Lack of regulatory framework
Given the extensivity of the tech adoption in terms of the amount it’s being done, there are still no firm regulations regarding its ethical use. There’s also variance among jurisdictions. It’s also fairly complicated to define the regulatory framework with the ever-growing volume of tools emerging with newer advances each day.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt that AI technology can enhance the quality of web development. It can still never replace humans and shouldn’t be mistaken for doing so. The trick is to use it as a copilot instead of a pilot.
There are very legitimate concerns that it could take away jobs. But this can be resolved if we use the technology wisely enough to not completely replace humans. Regulations must catch up with the pace of technology to ensure remedies are available before damage occurs. This should be done with an international collaborative effort.
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