I get what you're saying, and I think the core issue isn't that new people or new projects are a bad thing, but that trust and reputation matter, especially on Hive. AI may have lowered the barrier to building, but it hasn't replaced consistency, transparency, or long-term commitment. But on-chain activity also doens't always tell everything, there's plenty of people probably actually doing stuff behind the scenes.
Dangg, I didn't know about what happened to you with what/any collaboration. Sounds crazy. Regardless of who technically owned the code, its a missed opportunity Hive and proabbly could be solved differently. Dual-wield-github-invite should solve this, no? :P
But hey... if AI makes building software much easier, does the competitive advantage shift from technical ability to trust, execution, and community relationships? I mean... rep would definitely be worth something else in that way. Interesting.
I also have something to add to that; people need to care, they'll neeed to get out of their own bubble sometimes, and care about progression. If no one cares just for themselves, this chain isn't going anywhere.