Many CEOs are using AI as a smokescreen to shed jobs. AI did not cause the loss; CEO greed did. Most of the losses in Engineers at Micro$oft were related to Sales and sales support. Many low-level DevOps were also let go (an area highly ripe for automation).
I am seeing a strong trend (my own company included) to ensure AI is used as a tool to increase efficiency. This increase in efficiency will result in fewer job openings, especially for junior development engineers. But there will always be a need for technically proficient people who can take very specific domain needs and translate them into actionable programs. This proficiency is needed as AI is great when you guide it towards definite outcomes using particular language. I see that most of the "vibe" coding efforts, while they seem impressive, are shallow and are not as sophisticated as the real-world Enterprise requires.
Are you familiar with a short story by Ray Bradbury called _Superiority_? The premise is a pair of civilizations fighting. One possessed less sophisticated, yet reliable weapons. The other side is continually chasing the "hype curve". The story talks about how the tech-obsessed side continually chased after research to the point it started breaking their systems due to incompatibility and losing battle after battle to the other civilization.
“Superiority” is a cautionary tale about the dangers of overreliance on, and overhyping, technological innovation without fully understanding the costs, side effects, and practicalities. With its constant chase for the next tool or model, the current AI coding hype bubble echoes this story’s core warning: Success depends not on the newest technology but on effective, well-integrated systems and realistic expectations about what tech can (and can’t) do. Success focuses on outcomes.
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