# The centaur programmer -- How Kasparov's Advanced Chess spans over to the software development of the future

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11172 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.11172/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 21 Apr 2023.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [The Robots are Here: Navigating the Generative AI Revolution in Computing Education](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.00658/) (2023)
- ["Give me the code" -- Log Analysis of First-Year CS Students' Interactions With GPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.17855/) (2024)
- [Idempotent Equilibrium Analysis of Hybrid Workflow Allocation: A Mathematical Schema for Future Work](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.01323/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We introduce the idea of Centaur Programmer, based on the premise that a collaborative approach between humans and AI will be more effective than AI alone, as demonstrated in centaur chess tournaments where mixed teams of humans and AI beat sole computers. The paper introduces several collaboration models for programming alongside an AI, including the guidance model, the sketch model, and the inverted control model, and suggests that universities should prepare future programmers for a more efficient and productive programming environment augmented with AI. We hope to contribute to the important discussion about the diverse ways whereby humans and AI can work together in programming in the next decade, how universities should handle these changes and some legal implications surrounding this topic.