I think that models will improve and get cheaper. I think we'll see Opus 5.5 tier models open weights in six months.

You are probably right that some companies are factoring AI into headcount but I'd imagine that the interest rate and energy crisis are bigger concerns

Not that it explains all job market weirdness but you do have a problem on the hiring side with having to deal with the flood of AI generated applications. I assume that’s going to have a slowing effect on the typical apply/interview/hire process.