The shift from 'Developer/Programmer' to engineer has indeed been part of a push away from creativity towards cookie-cutter work. An interesting analogue would

The shift from 'Developer/Programmer' to engineer has indeed been part of a push away from creativity towards cookie-cutter work. An interesting analogue would be the Automotive industry; As time progressed, Companies focused more and more on 'engineering' versus art/tradition/etc. But as the industry evolved, "Flashy" vehicles that took risks became moreso either a halo product for a brand, or relegated to Luxury/Boutique. And, of course, there was the dark side of this shift; A good example from the 70s, the level of 'engineering' driving the design of the vehicle and it's assembly didn't take into consideration the actual line worker; in Ohio the workers wound up getting overworked, burned out, and in some cases actively sabotaged the product, because they were being treated like automated machines.