Charting New Frontiers: Exploring Limits, Threats, and Ecosystems of LLMs in Software Engineering

Large language models (LLMs) are transforming software engineering, but their adoption brings critical challenges. In this lecture, I will explore three key thrusts: the *limits* of LLMs, including their struggles with long-tailed data distributions and the quality of generated outputs; the *threats* they pose, such as their robustness, vulnerabilities to backdoor attacks and the memorization of sensitive information; and the *emerging ecosystems* surrounding their reuse, licensing, and documentation practices. Empirical research plays a pivotal role in uncovering these challenges and guiding the responsible development of LLMs in software engineering. By addressing these issues, we can chart a path forward for future research and innovation in this rapidly evolving field towards fully realizing next-generation software engineering (aka. "Software Engineering 2.0").