I just returned from holiday, and the buzz in the office is different.

It's not just engineering. Designers are using AI for asset generation. Junior devs are punching way above their weight class using tools like Claude Code Max.

We looked at the API bills for our top performers. They are racking up five-figure costs monthly. But their output isn't 20% higher; it's 10x higher.

This confirms a theory I've had since 2025:

The Individual Contributor (IC) role is dead.

AI didn't kill the job; it killed the nature of the job.

1. The Forced Promotion: Everyone is a Manager Now

In traditional management theory (Management 101), a manager’s job is Meta-Work.

You don't move the bricks; you remove obstacles so Bob can move 350 bricks.

Today, AI is Bob. And you have 12 Bobs.

If you are a software engineer in 2026, you are no longer paid to type code at 80 words per minute. You are paid to keep your "AI Fleet" utilized.

If you spend 3 hours hand-crafting a perfect function while your 10 AI agents sit idle, you are failing.

The Market Pressure: Competition will force you to maximize output. To do that, you must delegate to AI. This forces you into the very role many engineers tried to avoid: Management.

2. The Daily Reality of "Forced Management"

I spent the last month building a new project, Superphonic. Here is what my "coding" day actually looked like. It wasn't coding. It was:

• Prioritization (The Queue):
• • Old Way: I write code, grab coffee, and think about the next step.
  • New Way: My AI agents finish tasks in seconds. I am constantly scrambling to feed the beast. If I stop to think, the factory line stops. The pressure to "keep the queue full" is relentless.
• Architectural Arbitrage:
• • Old Way: We debate two architectures in a meeting, pick one, and build it.
  • New Way: Labor is near-zero cost. I tell Agent A to build Architecture X and Agent B to build Architecture Y. Then I run them both and see which one wins. I am not a builder; I am a judge.
• Conflict Resolution:
• • I have multiple AIs debating code implementation in a single thread. They disagree. I have to step in, parse their hallucinations, and make the executive call. It feels exactly like managing two senior engineers who hate each other's coding style.
• Feedback Loops:
• • I find myself updating "Custom Instructions" constantly, trying to coach the AI to behave differently. It feels exactly like writing performance reviews that are only half-listened to.

3. The "Light" at the End of the Tunnel (Maybe)

If you always wanted to be a manager, this is Utopia.

• No Drama: AI agents don't have egos. They don't need "calibration meetings." They don't sue you for bias.
• No Compliance Training: You don't have to remind ChatGPT to take its SOC2 compliance course.
• Infinite Scale: You are managing a team of interns who are smarter than you, faster than you, and do exactly what you say (mostly).

4. The "Dark" Reality: The Loss of Flow

However, for those of us who loved the craft—the "Direct Work"—this is a tragedy.

There is a distinct texture to "Deep Work." The quiet satisfaction of solving a puzzle yourself.

That is gone.

Now, even when I go to the bathroom, I feel anxiety: "I need to queue up tasks for Agent 4 and Agent 5 before I leave, or they will be idle for 2 minutes."

I am constantly context-switching, optimizing the fleet, managing the meta-layer.

I remember when I managed the engineering office in China. I spent weeks debating headcount for interns who wouldn't start for two years. The feedback loop was too long. I missed the immediacy of "Code --> Result."

AI brings the result closer, but it pushes the creation further away.

Conclusion: Welcome to Middle Management

You have crossed the event horizon. The genie is out.

You can no longer just be a "Coder." You are a Fleet Commander.

• The Good News: Your output potential is infinite.
• The Bad News: You are a manager now. Whether you like it or not.

The market will not pay you to be a craftsman anymore. It will pay you to be a conductor.

So, put down the keyboard, open your dashboard, and start assigning tickets to your synthetic workforce.

Mercury Technology Solutions: Accelerate Digitality.