Everyone is debating whether AI replaces developers.
Nobody is asking if AI is the best pair programmer you have ever had.
Pair programming has always produced better software. The evidence on that is consistent.
So why do most teams not do it consistently?
Cost.
Two developers. One piece of work. You reserve it for the hard problems. Everyone else works alone.
AI removes that objection entirely.
You get the full feedback loop. Someone to push back, propose alternatives, argue for a different design. No second salary attached. Always available. Never pulling someone off their own work.
That is not automation. That is collaboration.
The replacement discourse is the wrong story. The pair programming frame is closer to how experienced developers actually use this.
What frame are you working with?