Limits of AI in Software Development: Empirical Analysis of AI vs Human Engineers

Abstract—Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increasingly influenced modern software development by enabling automated code generation and testing support. Despite improvements in development speed, concerns remain regarding the reliability and security of AI-generated code. This study presents an experimental comparison between AI-generated and human-developed solutions across multiple programming tasks. The evaluation is based on correctness, maintainability, and security metrics. The results indicate that while AI is effective in handling structured tasks, it struggles with complex logic, edge cases, and secure implementations. The study concludes that AI should be considered an assistive tool rather than a replacement for human developers. Keywords— Artificial Intelligence, Software Development Lifecycle, Code Generation, DevOps, Automation, Human vs AI