Thinking about GenAI as a speed tool misses where the real leverage shows up. Two things deliver more value than velocity.
- GenAI expands a person's Capability
AI collapses skill boundaries in ways we haven’t seen before.
→ A SQL developer contributes meaningfully in Entity Framework
→ A backend engineer steps into DevOps work with confidence
→ A React developer helps on a native Android app
→ A C# developer builds ML tooling in Python
Teams stop waiting on “the one person who knows X.” A generalist can act as a specialist.
- GenAI improves Quality
The best engineers use AI to ask better questions of the work:
→ How does this fail?
→ Where does it break under load?
→ What’s fragile or unsafe?
→ What needs observability?
→ What makes this more robust over time?
Quality improves because thinking improves, not because typing gets faster.
Velocity still matters.
Top engineers already automate the routine. AI mainly shortens learning loops and reduces friction between ideas and execution.
The pattern I keep seeing:
→ Capability expands first.
→ Quality follows.
→ Velocity shows up as a side effect.
