Comment by CivBase

> Why was there so much stress, overwork and burnout even before AI started churning out 5000-line PRs?

Programming used to be a rare skill. Not so much now. In fact, it hasn't been for well over a decade.

My current employer started aggressively hiring for programmers in India in the early 2010s. They get paid a fraction of what our software engineers do in the US. There are many talented engineers in India, and those who get hired by us either find a way to come to the US for an enormous pay increase, or use us as a stepping stone to quickly find better work. And my employer is seemingly fine with this. They expect these cheap employees to do programming, not engineering.

Programming may not necessarily be easy, but it is cheap. It has become a relatively common skill, driving down its market value. A lot of tech companies were slow to figure this out because times were good, interest was low, and investment was flowing.

AI is waking people up to a truth that has been around for a while now.