Recent releases of GPT-4.5 and Grok 3 demonstrate diminishing returns in AI scaling, despite massive investments. Industry leaders show uncharacteristic restraint in announcements, while market indicators suggest a cooling period for AI enthusiasm.
Software developer job listings have dropped to a five-year low, showing 35% fewer vacancies than in 2020 and 3.5x fewer than the mid-2022 peak. The decline is attributed to multiple factors including GenAI impact, interest rate changes, and potential over-recruitment during 2021-2022. Despite the downturn, emerging trends suggest opportunities in AI-driven development and non-developer software creation.