While AI can raise the baseline for average performers, its most profound impact will be on "super-empowered individuals." The already great will use AI to achieve 10x productivity leaps, becoming "spectacularly great" in their fields.

Once AI surpasses human intelligence, raw intellect ceases to be a core differentiator. The new “North Star” for humans becomes agency: the willpower to choose difficult, meaningful work over easy dopamine hits provided by AI-generated entertainment.

The most effective career strategy for employees facing automation is not resistance, but mastery. By learning to operate, manage, and improve the very AI systems that threaten their roles, individuals can secure their positions and become indispensable experts who manage the machines.

The career risk from AI is not being automated out of existence, but being outcompeted by peers who leverage AI as a tool. The future workforce will be divided by AI literacy, making the ability to use AI a critical competitive advantage.

The true disruption from AI is not a single bot replacing a single worker. It's the immense leverage granted to individuals who can deploy thousands of autonomous AI agents. This creates a massive multiplication of productivity and economic power for a select few, fundamentally altering labor market dynamics from one-to-one replacement to one-to-many amplification.

While AI will make average performers good, its most dramatic effect will be making great performers spectacularly great. By augmenting top talent in fields like coding, art, or science, AI enables a single individual to achieve productivity levels previously requiring large teams, creating a new class of hyper-achievers.

The narrative "AI will take your job" is misleading. The reality is companies will replace employees who refuse to adopt AI with those who can leverage it for massive productivity gains. Non-adoption is a career-limiting choice.

AI disproportionately benefits top performers, who use it to amplify their output significantly. This creates a widening skills and productivity gap, leading to workplace tension as "A-players" can increasingly perform tasks previously done by their less-motivated colleagues, which could cause resentment and organizational challenges.

The primary threat of AI in the workforce isn't autonomous systems replacing people. Instead, it's the competitive displacement where individuals who master AI tools will vastly outperform and consequently replace their peers who fail to adapt to the new technology.