Are they? I remember when heavyweight IDEs where all the rage, there was a similar sentiment that if you weren't using one of them then you would eventually be so much slower that you'd be out of a job. It only took maybe five years until people started asking themselves if the dependency on a big IDE (and cost) was worth it. I don't think anyone would look at someone who prefers a stripped down text editor today and think they are backward or doing it wrong.

We have yet to see hard numbers on time saved by those who use LLM tooling extensively. It could be it doesn't turn out as compelling as we might expect.

Just sayin', I never forced software developers to use NetBeans or Intellij IDEA. I'm certainly not changing my tune and forcing them to use LLM tooling either.

Maybe it depends. If what you want to build is one-shot crap anyway, then micromanaging LLMs to make them vomit what you need for that is "productive". I wouldn't know, because I prefer real work over the make-believe and leave the AI coding acolytes to be left behind and die when their ingenious plans explode in their faces.