When freeCodeCamp’s Quincy Larson taught a million folks to code (Jul 2024), we cheered infinite human potential. Then Claude Code arrived (Jun 2025) with “zero learning curve,” and Leopold Aschenbrenner whispered that models already out-learn interns. Big Tech, awash in cash that “isn’t a motivator anymore” (Jan 2022), now optimises for compute, not coffee budgets.
Reality check: Media-industry studies show every tech transition starts as hyperbole, turns into headcount math, and ends in regulation. Hiring AIs over humans isn’t destiny - it’s economics unless we evolve skills, business models, and oversight.