I have 26 years in this industry. Principal engineer at three public companies. I have mentored dozens of developers. Last month I interviewed for a staff engineer role and got rejected because I couldn't demonstrate sufficient proficiency with AI coding tools during the technical screen. The 28-year-old interviewer wanted to see me use Copilot in real time. Not going to lie, I froze. I mean I know how to use it but I was watching a generation of engineers skip the part where you understand what you're building.