I'm a senior working with junior developers, guiding them through difficult tasks and delegating work to them. I also use AI for some of the work. Everything you say is correct.

However, that doesn't stop a) some seniors from spinning up several copies of AI and test them like a group of juniors and b) management from seeing this as a way to cut personnel.

I think denying these facts as a senior is just shooting yourself in the foot. We need to find the most productive ways of using AI or become obsolete.

At the same time we need to ensure that juniors can develop into future seniors. AI is throwing a major wrench in the works of that, but management won't care.

Basically, the smart thing to do is to identify where AI, seniors, and juniors all fit in. I think the bubble needs to pop before that truly happens, though. Right now there's too much excitement to cut cost/salaries with the people holding the purse strings. Until AI companies start trying to actually make a profit, that won't happen.