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'The West Forgot How to Make Things, Now It's Forgetting How to Code' — 1,074-Point HN Essay Links AI Deskilling to Defense Manufacturing Collapse
Tech Trenches essay draws direct parallel between defense manufacturing collapse (51→5 contractors, 65% workforce cut, Stinger missile restart requiring 70-year-old engineers) and AI-driven erosion of junior developer pipeline. Key data: LeadDev survey says 54% of engineering leaders will reduce junior hiring, 62% of CS departments report declining enrollment, METR study found experienced devs take 19% longer with AI tools. HN's 756-comment discussion converged on institutional knowledge loss being irreversible — rebuilding takes 5-10 years for complex systems.
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