Software developers are not okay

The piece argues that software developers and UX designers are suffering a sharp decline in wellbeing as the industry reshapes itself around AI and managerial incentives. It marshals visible signals - viral “I’m leaving tech” videos with thousands of comments, students switching majors, Facebook’s aborted attempt to replace engineers, and a one-third drop in new computer-science students in Iceland - to show that disillusionment is widespread. Many who embraced AI as the future now find the work less enjoyable: LLM-powered tools feel like delegating to a clueless junior, destroy flow and novelty, and erode emotional investment in craft, driving people to quit for mental-health reasons rather than technical objections.

The core claim is systemic: executive incentives push headcount reduction and cost-cutting, weakening worker leverage and increasing overload for remaining staff. Companies can get away with “AI”-assisted development that only needs to be mediocre, using cheaper models, gated hiring requirements (expensive laptops) or precarious employment to depress pay and squelch dissent. Layoffs and constant risk become permanent pressure rather than a transient bubble, so even if the funding hype collapses, product stagnation and overwork will persist. The conclusion is stark: this degraded, alienating mode of mainstream software work at large firms is likely the enduring reality unless incentives and labor power change.