Replaceable Cogs

This story is about one big tech company but it is true for every company going down this path. The push for AI-driven productivity is making programming more stressful and less creative, with engineers likening their work to repetitive warehouse labor. The adoption of AI is being used to justify increased demands, leaving many programmers feeling disengaged and concerned about the impact on code quality and job satisfaction. 

This reflects a wider industry pattern, with companies like Microsoft estimating that up to 30% of their code is now AI-generated. The pressure to adopt AI is industry-wide, not limited to any one company. Programmers see that AI tools are being used less to automate tedious tasks and more to justify higher output goals and tighter deadlines. 

Teams have been cut in half but are still expected to deliver the same volume of code, now with the help of AI. It is no surprise they fear for their redundancy. It is no longer a question of if but when. What is unclear to many is what it would take to survive the cut.

While AI coding tools can boost short-term productivity, the current strategy larger companies like the one in the story are taking, risks long-term harm by degrading job quality, eroding essential skills, increasing burnout, and compromising software quality and innovation. Sustainable success in tech depends on nurturing skilled, motivated engineers, not treating them like replaceable cogs in an assembly line.