Why would they still need them if "[f]rontier models now outperform developers on many tasks, be it on quality/readability/maintainability, and let’s not talk about speed"
Because it’s a force multiplier at this stage in the capability ladder. ROI of developers is arguably higher or will become higher in a matter of months.
If AI could outperform humans, Anthropic would NEVER release that model. Instead, they'd use it to create a new google, photoshop, office, windows, etc for cheap then undercut all those companies and taking over the entire software industry.
It can outperform humans, just unevenly. You’ll see a lot of the same dynamics as you see with Mythos which, tbh is kind of refreshing. I get the sense that Dario while of course forced to ruthlessly run a company is genuinely interested in figuring out how to roll this out as ethically as he can.