AI and Engineer Differentiation

🧪 Active Investigation AI will widen the gap between great engineers and average engineers, making adaptability and learning speed critical for survival.

CURRENT POSITION You believe the main risk is not AI replacing engineers, but engineers falling behind by producing code they don't understand and failing to learn faster than AI improves.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS AI tools significantly increase code output speed without guaranteeing understanding. Engineers who deeply understand AI-generated code will improve faster over time. Teams will require fewer engineers due to AI-driven productivity gains.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE Observation that some engineers rely on AI-generated code without understanding it. Contrast between engineers who passively accept AI output and those who actively learn from each commit.

OPEN QUESTIONS How quickly hiring practices will change to reward learning speed over output volume. Whether average engineers can realistically adapt fast enough with the right incentives or training.

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