Is AI Eradicating The Junior Developer?
CIO, Thursday, January 22nd, 2026
AI won't kill coding - but sidelining junior developers might, leaving the industry faster today and dangerously hollow tomorrow.
Across industries and job functions, AI is reshaping how we approach and complete tasks of all types. Whether it be on the individual or organizational level, AI capabilities introduce a new layer to the concept of working smarter, not harder.
Generative AI, in particular, has opened up a new world of possibilities within software development, with the rise of vibe coding lowering the barrier to productivity for entry-level developers and non-developers alike. Long hours of manual effort spent writing lines of code have, in many cases, been replaced by plain language prompts that yield good enough (and improving) outcomes.