Over a four-month period in 2025, more than 200 RSEs gathered to discuss the state of GenAI in the RSE workplace. These gatherings (at SciPy, RSECon 25, US-RSE 2025, Supercomputing 2025) allowed RSEs to discuss the impacts of GenAI on the work of research software engineering. Through these conversations, the RSE community has determined to create this public statement on how GenAI is impacting RSEs, and the vision RSEs have for their profession in this new technological landscape.
This position statement was developed based on the input collected from RSEs at these events and compiled by event organizers at the Alliance for Data Science and AI (ADSA), the US Research Software Engineer Association (US-RSE), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), Institute of Computing for Climate Science (ICCS), University College London (UCL), and generously supported by Schmidt Sciences. Subsequent review of the draft position statement by RSE community members further strengthened the statement.
If you are interested in signing the finalized position statement, you're in the right place!
- Review the position statement
- Add your signature via a pull request OR by submitting an Issue
- The signed position statement will be published in mid February 2026 and distributed broadly
While this position statement specifically discusses the role Research Software Engineer, we know that many in our communities hold other titles (e.g. computational biologist, software developer, application developer, etc.). Also note: the position statement was developed with an international focus - RSEs across the globe are impacted by generative AI and we hope the statement speaks to RSEs everywhere.
If the position statement rings true for your work role, we would love to see your signature!