The truth is out there… and so is the AI revolution. Foundation models and AI-driven tools are transforming software engineering, offering unprecedented efficiencies while introducing new uncertainties. As developers, we find ourselves in uncharted territory: these tools promise to accelerate productivity and reshape our workflows, but can we really trust them? Like any good investigator, we must question the systems we rely on. Are AI-based tools reliable, transparent, and aligned with developer needs? Or are they inscrutable black boxes with hidden risks? Trust isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the key factor determining whether AI integration succeeds or spirals into skepticism. In this keynote, I will uncover the evolving role of AI in software engineering and explore how we can build, measure, and foster trust in these tools. I will also reveal why the FORGE community is uniquely positioned to lead this charge, ensuring that AI becomes a trusted partner—not an unsolved mystery. After all, when it comes to AI in software development… should we trust no bot? (This abstract came to life with a little help from ChatGPT and a lot of love for The X-Files.)

Thomas Zimmermann is a Chancellor’s Professor and Bren Chair at the University of California, Irvine. He works on cutting-edge research and innovation in software engineering, machine learning, artificial intelligence, data science, and digital games. He has over 15 years of experience in the field, with more than 100 publications that have been cited over 30,000 times. His research mission is to empower software developers and organizations to build better software and services with AI. He is best known for his pioneering work on systematic mining of software repositories and his empirical studies of software development in industry. He has contributed to several Microsoft products and tools, such as Visual Studio, GitHub, and Xbox. He is an ACM Fellow, an IEEE Fellow, and recipient of the IEEE TCSE Edward J. McCluskey Technical Achievement award.

He received his PhD in 2008 from Saarland University in Germany. From 2007 to 2008 he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary and from 2008 to 2024 he worked at Microsoft Research as a Sr. Principal Researcher.