The first white-collar job that AI can actually replace is the one that built the AI. Now coding is conversational. One dev is pleading with his chatbot: “Pushing code that fails pytest is unacceptable and embarrassing.” (Clive Thompson, New York Times)
- AI coding tools have made developers faster. Startups report 20–100x productivity gains, Google a more modest 10%.
- Entry-level jobs are already shrinking, with a 16% drop in positions for developers aged 22–25 since 2022.
- The work itself has shifted: less writing code, more arguing with bots, reviewing output, and managing agents. Some report skill loss after just months of heavy AI use.
