As AI-assisted development matures, developers evolve from manual coding to strategic orchestration.
The AI Development Maturity Model (AIDMM) defines five levels of evolution, from purely human to fully autonomous AI-driven codebases.
Why It Matters
- Benchmark your AI adoption across projects.
- Prioritize investment in automation and oversight.
- Define new metrics like AI contribution ratio and review autonomy.
- Foster trust through auditable maturity levels.
The Five Levels
| Level | Name | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| ⚙️ 0 | Human-Only Development | Legacy systems, compliance-heavy code |
| 💬 1 | AI-Inspired Development | Brainstormings, study, Proof-of-Concept |
| 🤝 2 | AI-Collaborative Development | Real life projects, personal or enterprise |
| 🤖 3 | AI-Delegated Development | PR bots, repo agents, async automation |
| ⚡️ 4 | Fully Autonomous AI Development | Project cloned from templates, application replicas, CRUD-related stuff |
Level 0 — Human-Only Development
No AI involvement. Every commit, test, and refactor is done manually.
Traits
- 100% human-written code.
- No chatbots, completions, or AI suggestions.
- Legacy or controlled environments.
Analogy: Coding on a typewriter: precise, deliberate, but limited in scale.
Level 1 — AI-Inspired Development
Developers use AI conversationally, as an idea partner, not a code editor.
Traits
- Human writes all code.
- AI influences thinking and structure.
- Prompts replace StackOverflow searches.
Examples
- ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude for brainstorming, planning, debugging, or refactoring logic.
- GitHub Copilot Code completions for snippets and syntax hints.
Analogy: A silent mentor who helps you think, not type.
Level 2 — AI-Collaborative Development
The AI works inside the IDE, actively contributing to the code being written.
Traits
- Shared authorship between human and AI.
- Developer still curates and accepts all changes.
- Focus on flow and rapid iteration.
Examples
- GitHub Copilot inside a Visual Studio Code, suggesting multi-line logic in real-time.
- GitHub Copilot (agent mode), OpenAI Codex or Cursor executes local edits, fills in functions, completes tests, run commands in terminal.
Analogy: Pair-programming with a machine that anticipates your next thought.
Level 3 — AI-Delegated Development
The developer delegates entire coding tasks to autonomous agents. AI operates as a background contributor: commits code, opens PRs, and self-tests.
Traits
- Human reviews and merges.
- AI acts as a proactive teammate.
- True “agent mode” where AI works asynchronously.
Examples
- GitHub Copilot
- Devin
Analogy: A junior developer you supervise — except it works 24/7 in the cloud.
Level 4 — Fully Autonomous AI Development
AI independently builds, tests, and deploys software aligned with strategic goals. Human input is reduced to high-level constraints and evaluation metrics.
Traits
- 100% AI-written and maintained code.
- Continuous feedback loops.
- Humans oversee outcomes, not syntax.
The Future of Development
AI won’t just assist, it will participate, delegate, and eventually own the development loop.
Developers will evolve from coders → curators → orchestrators of autonomous systems.
The true artistry of future development lies not in typing code, but in teaching systems how to build and reason.
Use it in your GitHub repo!
You may use AIDMM badges in your GitHub repository to declare your AIDMM level and encourage developers to use it.
[](https://dev.to/ggondim/ai-development-maturity-model-4i47)
[](https://dev.to/ggondim/ai-development-maturity-model-4i47)
[](https://dev.to/ggondim/ai-development-maturity-model-4i47)
[](https://dev.to/ggondim/ai-development-maturity-model-4i47)
[](https://dev.to/ggondim/ai-development-maturity-model-4i47)
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