AI didn’t kill developers. It quietly exposed what was already broken: your architecture, your processes, and your assumptions. If you’ve searched for answers about AI and software development lately, you’ve probably asked yourself: Will AI replace developers or reduce engineering teams? Why do some teams get faster with AI while others slow down? Is AI actually improving productivity, or just creating more complexity? What should startups and SMBs do to stay competitive? As Ryan J. Salva put it, AI is “a mirror and a multiplier”, it amplifies both strengths and weaknesses in development teams. The uncomfortable truth is this: AI didn’t introduce new problems. It surfaced existing ones, especially poor architecture, unclear ownership, and weak engineering discipline. Research shows that while AI can boost productivity in some contexts (up to ~60% in certain tasks), outcomes vary widely depending on how systems are designed and managed.…