The Death of 'AI-Native' Developers
Why over-reliance on AI generation is building technical debt faster than ever before, and why senior engineers are still your best investment.
By Rafal Skucha
The Death of ‘AI-Native’ Developers
In the rush to adopt AI, many startups are gutting their senior engineering teams in favor of ‘AI-native’ juniors who can prompt their way to a feature in minutes.
But there’s a hidden cost. AI-generated code, while functional on the surface, often lacks the architectural depth, security considerations, and maintainability that a veteran engineer brings to the table.
The Vibe-Coding Trap
Prompting is not engineering. Engineering is about trade-offs, scalability, and knowing when not to write code.
Key Takeaways:
- AI is a tool, not a replacement.
- Senior leadership is more critical than ever to oversee AI-assisted development.
- “People Over Process” applies here: empower your developers to use AI, but hold them accountable for the architecture.
Stay pragmatic.