The article debunks the myth that automation eliminates jobs by tracing the ATM era, three waves of software testing evolution, and current AI trends, showing that repetitive tasks disappear while roles requiring judgment and context shift and expand.
The article argues that AI has shattered traditional product‑manager collaboration costs, shifting power from scheduling to rapid verification, and outlines three possible futures—small‑team empowerment, model‑centric products, and fluid role boundaries—concluding that the era of PRD‑only delivery is over.
The article traces Google's transition from manual testing to automated testing, detailing the emergence of distinct testing roles such as Test Engineers, Release Engineers, Site Reliability Engineers, and Test Development Engineers, and how these changes boosted productivity and reshaped engineering workflows.
