Back in 2000s tech was about websites to share "I can has cheezeburger" photos and now we're literally in the middle of technological revolution that seemed like scifi less than 10 years ago. Not only AI, but biotech, space, fusion, robitics, even gussian splats. Solo software engineer can't create on of these now. But there's so much more invention of genuinely new, exciting new things going on that we can be involved with.
Yes, big corps suck. Always have, always existed, 20 and 40 years ago. Startups of 20 years ago have become big corps of today; now, new ones are in this "youthuful vigor" stage.
But you just hit the nail on the head: "Solo software engineer can't create on of these now".
The current boom in AI and the cloud/social media boom in the recent decade have required ungodly amounts of capital for their resident companies to get off the ground. It's no longer a creative endeavour that basement hackers can participate in. In many ways it is toxic to the original nerd/hacker ethos by shutting out newcomers to the field and increasing wealth inequality, hence the hostility you now see on HN.
Yes, big corps suck. Always have, always existed, 20 and 40 years ago. Startups of 20 years ago have become big corps of today; now, new ones are in this "youthuful vigor" stage.