Experts Exchange came before Stack Overflow and had a paywall model. Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky created Stack Overflow as a free, open-source Q&A platform for developers that was a big improvement over Experts Exchange. Stack Overflow has its own share of challenges with the rise of ChatGPT and the battle with ever-changing technologies.

Stack Overflow, a popular programming website, and OpenAI are partnering to provide a data API for OpenAI customers to retrieve real time and vetted data.

OpenAI and Stack Overflow's recent partnership announcement has raised concerns for some users that their data is being used without permission. Some users who wanted to delete their answers have had their accounts suspended. The site does not generally allow the deletion of posts if the questions have any answers. Stack Overflow moderators say that it doesn't allow users to remove posts as they hurt the company as a whole. While the GDPR gives users in the EU the right to be forgotten, websites have a right not to delete data if it doesn't contain identifiable information to prevent the flow of a topic or question from being disrupted.

Staging Ground is a private space where new askers on Stack Overflow can get help from experienced users to improve their questions before posting to the broader community. Reviewers provide feedback on how to improve questions by leaving comments and moving questions into different statuses based on how much the questions need to be improved. Staging Ground was created to improve the new user experience while also increasing the quality of questions on Stack Overflow. It is now available to all new question-askers on the platform.

This article discusses the results of the 14th annual Stack Overflow Developer Survey. This year's most popular technologies are JavaScript and PostgreSQL. Rust and Markdown are the most admired. Developers are frustrated with technical debt at work, but they don't see AI as a threat. While most developers use or plan to use AI tools, many don't trust the accuracy of the technology.

Stack Overflow has banned the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT for creating content on the platform due to the high rate of incorrect answers produced by these tools.

The recent survey conducted by Stack Overflow, which included over 65,000 developers, provides valuable insights into the current state of AI coding tools and their integration into developer workflows. As the initial excitement surrounding these tools has subsided, developers have begun to assess their effectiveness and reliability more critically. A significant majority, 76% of developers, are either using or planning to use AI coding tools, reflecting a rise from 70% the previous year. However, there is a notable skepticism regarding the trustworthiness of these tools. While 72% of respondents expressed a favorable view of AI coding tools, this figure has decreased from 77% in 2023, indicating that as more developers have engaged with these tools, some have encountered disappointments regarding their performance. Trust in AI output remains a contentious issue, with 42% of developers affirming their trust in the accuracy of AI-generated results, while 31% do not trust them. A further 27% remain neutral, suggesting that many developers are still forming their opinions based on their experiences. Developers recognize the benefits of AI tools, particularly in enhancing productivity (81%), accelerating learning (62%), and improving efficiency (58%). However, there is a consensus that AI tools struggle with complex tasks, with 45% of professional developers rating their performance in this area as poor. Interestingly, only 30% attribute these shortcomings to user error or inadequate training, indicating a broader concern about the tools themselves. Concerns about AI tools include a general distrust of their output and a lack of contextual understanding of specific organizational codebases. Despite these reservations, developers anticipate that AI tools will become increasingly integrated into their workflows for tasks such as documentation, testing, and coding. The survey also highlights ongoing challenges developers face in accessing the information they need. Many report that waiting for answers disrupts their workflow, with over half agreeing that they struggle to find timely and accurate information. A significant portion of developers spends considerable time—often 30 minutes or more each day—searching for solutions or answering questions from colleagues, which can detract from their productivity. Knowledge silos, where critical information is not shared across teams, further hinder productivity, affecting 30% of developers multiple times a week. This situation underscores the importance of fostering a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing within organizations. In response to these challenges, Stack Overflow is enhancing its platform with AI features designed to streamline the process of finding relevant and trustworthy information, thereby improving coding productivity and efficiency. The survey results suggest that while AI tools have potential, there is still significant room for improvement in their reliability and integration into developers' daily tasks.