This honestly explains one of the biggest misconceptions around AI in engineering right now.
A lot of teams think AI magically fixes weak engineering culture, but usually it just scales the existing problems faster.
The Stripe vs Amazon comparison was especially interesting because it shows that the real moat now is probably:
-systems -testing -feedback loops -and engineering discipline
not just “who adopted AI first.”
Also fully agree with the point that most startups are chasing velocity metrics without thinking enough about maintainability or reliability until production breaks.
Feels like this is exactly why a lot of early-stage founders now care more about technical direction and architecture thinking early on instead of just shipping features fast. Seen platforms like foundersbar helping founders think more long term about MVP foundations and scalable systems instead of pure velocity.