There is growing public alarm about how generative AI might obliterate established (legacy) industries and professions, ranging from lawyers to Uber drivers to accountants. But what is often overlooked is that the first major victim of AI disruption will undoubtedly be the technology sector itself. AI is already starting to cannibalise established giants, and also reshape the profession of software engineering with major implications for research, antitrust policy, and safety regulation.

Since the invention of modern computers during World War II, technological progress has enabled us to ma...