The LLM Dependency Test: A New Way to Interview Software Engineers in the Age of AI

The article proposes a new software engineer interview approach called the 'LLM Dependency Test,' prompted by real incidents where organizations—including the Pentagon—found themselves unable to function after losing access to AI tools. It highlights how engineers increasingly rely on AI as load-bearing cognitive infrastructure, citing the March 2026 Claude outage and the Pentagon's inability to remove Claude from Palantir's Maven weapons targeting system as cautionary examples.