The Promise and Peril of Software Engineering Education in the Age of AI

PRINCETON ACM / IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY
FEBRUARY 2026 JOINT MEETING

***Online only meeting***

"The Promise and Peril of Software Engineering Education in the Age of AI" - Michael Hilton, Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract:
AI, and particularly Large Language models, have had a seismic impact on the world of Software Engineering (SE). The world is still changing rapidly, and there are still more questions than answers about how the advent of LLMs will impact the world of Software Engineering Education. However, based on previous new technologies and enduring SE principles, we can make some inferences about how things might go. In this talk we will discuss how we might want to think differently about SE Education in light of these recent changes, consider some of the implications of these new LLM based tools, and discuss how they will affect the students using them. The talk will discuss some concerns about these tools and how they have been influencing students, but also how they might be harnessed to improve SE Education.

Speaker's Biography:
Michael Hilton is a Teaching Professor in the Software and Societal Systems Department in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also the Associate Department Head for Education, as well as the director of the Software Engineering Minor/Concentration. He holds a Ph.D. from Oregon State University. He has won several awards for his teaching, including the 2021 Spira Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2020-21 Wimmer Faculty Fellowship. He publishes in top Software Engineering venues, where his research is focused on flaky tests and educational research.

Date: Thursday February 19, 2026, 8:00 PM EST
(Online only this month)

How to register for the online meeting:
Send email to PrincetonACM {AT} gmail {DOT} com
OR Register on Meetup.com (https://www.meetup.com/ieee-princeton-central-jersey-section/)

Online (Zoom) connection information:
https://zoom.us/j/88075394070?pwd=wdQUa563bVaw74OZb7C43fbP3Ncmau.1

On-line meeting notice:
https://princetonacm.acm.org/meetings/mtg2602.pdf

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Future Princeton ACM/ IEEE Computer Society Meetings:

Saturday Mar. 14 - 16th IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC '26) - https://ewh.ieee.org/conf/stem/ (at Princeton University)
Thursday Mar. 19 - More Fun with Pi, Mike Keith (at Princeton University Friend Center)
Thursday Apr. 16 - Natural Language Processing, Michael Bloodgood, TCNJ (at TCNJ)
Thursday May 21 - Python, Nitin Madnani, Duolingo (location TBA)
Thursday Jun. 11 - Annual Elections and Planning Meeting (location TBA)