> So really, is AI a tool to make us more productive or a tool to remove our bargaining power?

Don't you notice how it makes you more productive, that you can solve problems faster? It would be really odd if not.

And regarding the bargaining power: that's not the other side of the scale, it's a different problem. If your code monkey now gets as good as your average developer, the average developer will have lost some relative value, unless he also upped his game by using AI.

If everyone gets better, why would you see this as something bad, which makes us lose "bargaining power"? Because you no longer can put the least effort which your employer expects from you? Even then: it's not like AI makes things harder, it makes them better. At least for me software development has become more enjoyable.

While 5 years ago I was asking myself if I really want to do this for the rest of my career, I now know that I want to do this, with this added help, which takes away much of the tedious stuff like looking up solution-snippets on Stack Overflow. Plus, I know that I will have to deal less and less with writing code, and more and more with managing code solutions offered to me.