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Let's start with the obvious: AI, when used intentionally, makes engineers more efficient. More code can be written in less time, and as models continue to improve, fewer mistakes are being made. We've moved beyond "I use AI for scaffolding and then write the rest myself" to "I'm going to send a Jira link to my agent to research and build a plan, then run with the plan."
Engineering today is not the same as it was even a few years ago. With that, expectations of engineers have changed. Read: expectations around output have increased, and I don't see us backtracking anytime soon.
The problem is that most engineering leaders haven't actually said that out loud to their teams. They've noticed the shift, they've watched what's possible, but they haven't reset the bar explicitly. That gap between what's now achievable and what's officially expected is exactly where confusion and resentment grow. We're living in an age where it's easy to forget to level-set on new expectations, which often leads to surprises on performance reviews.
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