This really resonates with me. I started CS way back in 2011, and I really miss proper engineering. I feel a deep sense of loss. Yes, I can get more done now. But the intellectual stimulation is gone.

I no longer build intricate, satisfying systems that make my brain tingle in all the right ways and like nothing else ever has. I just argue with the machine until it produces something good enough. There's no grace, no elegance in it. No hard thinking, no moment of triumph.

It all feels brittle and poorly thought out, and I don't know if it'll scale. It all makes me feel very sad. I'm considering leaving the profession over it, but it's coming for all sorts of other intellectually interesting pursuits as well.