[lsowen]

The purpose for internship programs generally are to grow the interns skills and establish a talent pipeline, _not_ for their immediate "code lift".

Unless you think that AI is going to completely replace developers, then there will remain value in having interns.

[gcr]

My former FAANG uses internships at the Ph.D. level for both recruiting and talent acquisition. Hiring committees have a way easier time assessing candidates with feedback like "this intern implemented X, Y, and Z beyond their project spec W during the summer" or "this intern goofed off all summer."