arXiv:2506.12691cs.SEcs.AI2025-06中稿 · publication at the…被引 16

用LLM提升软件工程研究效率,同时警惕其带来的科学风险。

Get on the Train or be Left on the Station: Using LLMs for Software Engineering Research

  • 以麦克卢汉媒介理论分析LLM对研究的影响
  • 加速研究构思与自动化流程,但可能取代传统方法
  • 适合关注AI时代科研伦理与方法的学者

大型语言模型(LLMs)不仅正在改变软件工程(SE)实践,也即将从根本上重塑该领域的研究方式。尽管观点从将LLMs视为单纯生产力工具到视其为革命性力量不一,我们主张SE研究社区应主动参与并塑造其在研究中的整合,强调人类主体性。随着LLMs迅速成为研究工具与研究对象,以人为本的视角至关重要。确保人类监督与可解释性,是维护科学严谨性、推动伦理责任和促进领域进步的关键。本文基于第二届哥本哈根人本化人工智能在软件工程研讨会的讨论,采用麦克卢汉的媒介四定律框架,分析了LLMs在研究中如何通过加速构思与自动化过程增强能力,使部分传统研究方法过时,保留历史研究中的有益元素,并在极端应用下存在反噬风险。分析揭示了创新机遇与潜在陷阱,呼吁研究社区积极利用优势,同时建立框架与指南以应对风险,保障人工智能增强未来中研究的持续严谨性与影响力。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

The adoption of Large Language Models (LLMs) is not only transforming software engineering (SE) practice but is also poised to fundamentally disrupt how research is conducted in the field. While perspectives on this transformation range from viewing LLMs as mere productivity tools to considering them revolutionary forces, we argue that the SE research community must proactively engage with and shape the integration of LLMs into research practices, emphasizing human agency in this transformation. As LLMs rapidly become integral to SE research - both as tools that support investigations and as subjects of study - a human-centric perspective is essential. Ensuring human oversight and interpretability is necessary for upholding scientific rigor, fostering ethical responsibility, and driving advancements in the field. Drawing from discussions at the 2nd Copenhagen Symposium on Human-Centered AI in SE, this position paper employs McLuhan's Tetrad of Media Laws to analyze the impact of LLMs on SE research. Through this theoretical lens, we examine how LLMs enhance research capabilities through accelerated ideation and automated processes, make some traditional research practices obsolete, retrieve valuable aspects of historical research approaches, and risk reversal effects when taken to extremes. Our analysis reveals opportunities for innovation and potential pitfalls that require careful consideration. We conclude with a call to action for the SE research community to proactively harness the benefits of LLMs while developing frameworks and guidelines to mitigate their risks, to ensure continued rigor and impact of research in an AI-augmented future.

LLM软件工程科研方法人机协同

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