The final limits of Extreme Programming in the AI epoch
Does XP have any relevance, then, in the coming AI age?
My belief, at times no more than a hope, is that the undervalued and overlooked traits of creativity and intuition - uniquely human traits- that are so essential to cultivating valuable software will still make all the difference in the future.
XP is a human practice. As long as humans continue to be involved in the creation and cultivation of software, its values, principles, and even many of its practices will remain relevant, although they will undoubtedly need to adapt (as they always have).
As
says in the preface to the book:“I’ve taken things I’ve done that have worked well and distilled them to what I think is their purest, most “extreme” form. What I’m most struck with in this process is the limitations of my own imagination in this effort. Practices that seemed impossible extreme five years ago… are now common. Five years from now the practices in this book will probably seem conservative”.
In some ways, Kent’s words ring true. In others, it’s amazing to see how unevenly distributed these practices, principles, and values still are across the industry.
Even setting AI aside, there is still so much room to grow.
And with it, perhaps we are ready to take XP to its most extreme form yet - perhaps even beyond the confines of software engineering.
Our only limitations are our own imaginations.