Dales observation, widely shared in tech circles, captures a growing unease in the engineering community. He describes compulsive behaviors around agent usage and dissociative awe at the temporal compression of change—a sense that career timelines have collapsed as AI tools radically alter what programmers do and how they do it.

The mental health impacts go beyond simple fear of replacement. Engineers report cognitive overload from living in an inflection point, struggling to adapt their identities and skills to a profession transforming beneath their feet.