• AWS CEO Matt Garman argues against replacing junior developers with AI, calling it "one of the dumbest ideas."
• Juniors excel with AI tools due to recent exposure, using them daily more than seniors (55.5% per Stack Overflow survey).
• They are cheapest to employ, so not ideal for cost-cutting; true savings require broader optimization.
• Cutting juniors disrupts talent pipeline, stifling fresh ideas and future leaders; tech workforce demand grows rapidly.
• AI boosts productivity, enabling more software creation, but jobs will evolve—fundamentals remain key.

Hacker News Discussion

• AI accelerates junior ramp-up by handling boilerplate, APIs, imports, freeing time for system understanding and learning.
• Juniors ask "dumb questions" revealing flaws, useless abstractions; seniors may hesitate due to face-saving or experience.
• Need juniors for talent pipeline; skipping them creates senior shortages in 4-5 years as workloads pile up.
• Team leads foster vulnerability by modeling questions, identifying "superpowers" to build confidence.
• Debates on AI vs. docs struggle: AI speeds answers but may skip broader discovery; friction aids deep learning.