Presentation: The Ladder Is Missing Rungs: Engineering Progression When AI Ate the Middle

Research from METR and Anthropic indicates that heavy reliance on AI coding tools creates a supervision paradox that hinders the development of junior engineers. By automating routine tasks, these tools prevent entry-level staff from acquiring the foundational skills and institutional knowledge required for senior roles. This trend threatens the long-term engineering pipeline, as organizations may eventually lack the experienced professionals needed to oversee and verify increasingly autonomous AI systems.