In a candid LinkedIn post stirring debate across tech circles, a Machine Learning engineer has issued a stark warning: AI tools are not just reshaping software development — they might be wrecking it.
“AI is creating the worst generation of developers in history,” the engineer declared, predicting that by 2026, the industry will see the first wave of AI-native engineers getting fired.
New breed of ‘engineers’
At the heart of the critique is a growing dependence on tools like ChatGPT, which, the engineer argues, has birthed a generation of developers who can paste code — but can’t explain it, debug it, or build anything end-to-end.
Many junior devs today, the post claimed, follow a worrying pattern:
- Paste code from ChatGPT
- Don’t understand how it works
- Can’t fix it when it breaks
- Showcase broken, unfinished projects
“When their AI-generated code breaks in production (and it will), they’ll quickly realize:
- They can’t fix it
- ChatGPT can’t fix it
- Stack Overflow can’t save them
They’re functionally illiterate,” the post read.
Hiring red flags already visible
Drawing from recent technical interviews, the engineer shared how many candidates now lean entirely on AI output — often without understanding a single line.
“‘Walk me through this code.’
‘Well, ChatGPT said…’
‘But WHY does it work?’
[Silence].”
New premium: the ‘pre-AI developer’
Looking ahead, the post predicts a sharp divide. By 2027, developers who built foundational skills before the AI boom will be in demand — likened to artisans in an age of automation.
“The rare humans who can debug without a chatbot will command a premium. We’re speedrunning from ‘everyone can code’ to ‘no one knows how anything works.'”
The concern stretches beyond individuals. With AI tools prone to hallucinations, outages, and rate limits, over-reliant teams risk grinding to a halt.
“When the AI models go down, or just hallucinate wrong, your entire engineering team becomes useless,” the engineer warned.
“Controversial? Maybe. True? Let’s see in 24 months. How many developers on your team could debug without AI? Be honest. Mine went from 8/10 to 3/10 in two years.”
The post ends with a blunt challenge for tech leaders: Are we training problem solvers — or prompt engineers?
Developers weigh in
The post struck a chord online, with many echoing the concern.
“I find that copying 1-2 lines from Copilot or an LLM works well if we retain the information by understanding it,” one user shared. “But when we blindly copy large blocks, especially unfamiliar code, it becomes much harder to debug and truly learn.”
Another added: “AI won’t kill engineering, but over-reliance just might. You can’t build skyscrapers on sand. The future belongs to teams pairing AI with real understanding.”
