How AI Changes the Role of Applied Scientists

What this post added

The post introduces an analysis of how AI has changed the role of applied scientists by examining their GitHub contributions between 2023 and 2025. It quantifies the increase in overall productivity (PRs and LoC) and the redistribution of tasks. Specifically, it highlights a decrease in the share of work for standardized ML and data pipeline tasks, and an increase in Platform/Tooling and Frontend/UI development. This is framed through an economic lens of task bundles and production functions, suggesting AI has raised minimum viable competence in new task classes.