We were told that AI would make development more accessible. That it would “level the playing field,” empower juniors, and help more people build great software.
That’s not what I’m seeing.
In reality, AI is widening the gap between junior and senior developers and fast.
Seniors Are 10x-ing With AI
For experienced engineers, AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot are a multiplier.
Why?
Because they know:
- What to ask
- How to evaluate the answers
- What matters in their system
- How to refactor and harden code
- When to ignore the suggestion completely
Seniors are using AI the same way a great chef uses a knife: faster, safer, more precise.
Juniors Are Being Left Behind
Many junior developers, especially those early in their careers, don’t yet have the experience to judge what’s good, bad, or dangerous. And here’s the issue:
AI makes it look like they’re productive until it’s time to debug, optimize, or maintain the code.
They’re often:
- Copy-pasting solutions without understanding the trade-offs
- Relying on AI to write tests they wouldn’t know how to write themselves
- Shipping code that works on the surface, but is fragile underneath
What they’re building is a slow-burning fire of tech debt, and they don’t even see the smoke.
Prompting Isn’t Engineering
There’s a new kind of developer emerging: one who can write a great prompt but can’t explain a stack trace.
That might sound harsh, but I’ve seen it first-hand. Without a foundation in problem-solving, architecture, debugging, and security prompting becomes a crutch, not a tool.
Good engineering still requires:
- Judgment
- Pattern recognition
- Systems thinking
- Curiosity
- Accountability
AI doesn’t teach these. Mentorship does.
Where Is the Mentorship?
In many teams, mentorship is already stretched thin. Now we’re adding AI to the mix, and some companies expect juniors to “just figure it out with ChatGPT.”
That’s not how this works.
The result? Juniors are missing the critical lessons that turn coding into engineering:
- Why things are built the way they are
- What trade-offs exist and why they matter
- How to debug a system under load
- When to break patterns
- How to think clearly under pressure
No AI can give you that. You only get it from real experience and real guidance.
What We Can Do
If you’re a senior engineer, now is the time to lean into mentorship not pull away.
Yes, AI helps you move faster. But if your team is growing and you’re not helping juniors grow too, you’re building speed on a weak foundation.
If you’re a junior, use AI but don’t trust it blindly. Try to understand everything it gives you. Ask why. Break it. Fix it. Learn.
Because here’s the truth:
AI won’t make you a better engineer. But it will make great engineers even better.
Don’t get left behind.
Final Thoughts
AI isn’t the enemy. But it’s not a shortcut to seniority either. We need to be honest about what it’s good for and where it’s failing us.
Let’s stop pretending it’s a magic equalizer. It’s not.
It’s a magnifier.
If you’re already strong, it makes you stronger.
If you’re still learning, it can hide your weaknesses until they blow up.