The rise of AI-specialized security tools raises a legitimate question: will security researchers be replaced?
What AI does well
LLMs are remarkably effective on known vulnerabilities: trivial SQL injection, reflected XSS, misconfigured HTTP headers. Burp Suite now integrates AI assistants. Automated scanners have taken a leap.
What AI doesn't replace
Business logic. Reasoning about real-world impact. Understanding the application context that makes a "theoretical" vulnerability exploitable in a specific scenario. Complex exploit chains.
My conclusion
AI will kill bug bounty for basic vulnerabilities. It will democratize access to security testing. But it will also raise the bar: the human researchers who survive will be those who can think like attackers, not like scanners.