Do Frameworks Matter Anymore?

The author questions whether web frameworks still matter in 2026, given advances in AI-assisted "agentic programming" that may make implementation details irrelevant. While acknowledging the conventional wisdom that React's dominance means developers should stick with it since AI models are trained most heavily on React code, the author suggests this reasoning deserves serious scrutiny rather than blind acceptance. The fundamental question explored is whether frameworks provide enough unique value through abstractions, structure, and constraints to justify continued innovation, or if the industry will simply default to the most stable, established option.