The most potent productivity gains from AI aren't just for junior staff. Seasoned professionals who combine deep domain expertise with adaptability are using AI to rapidly learn adjacent skills like design or marketing. This allows them to "collapse the skill stack" and single-handedly perform tasks that previously required multiple people.

Inspired by Dilbert creator Scott Adams, the key to career success is combining skills. Being a cartoonist who understood business was a rare combination. AI makes it easier to develop a second or third deep skill, transforming you from a replaceable specialist into an invaluable, multi-talented individual.

By training AI on your personal data, arguments, and communication style, you can leverage it as a creative partner. This allows skilled professionals to reduce the time for complex tasks, like creating a new class, from over 16 hours to just four.

Effective AI prompting is a high-level form of programming that requires a rich, specific vocabulary. Experts in fields like art history or software engineering can generate superior results because they can provide more precise instructions (e.g., specific styles, frameworks), making deep domain knowledge more valuable than ever.

As AI agents handle technical execution, the most valuable human skill becomes ideation. Replit CEO Amjad Massad predicts this will dissolve rigid corporate hierarchies in favor of adaptable teams of generalists who collaborate with autonomous AI tools to bring ideas to life.

The ability to code is not just another domain for AI; it's a meta-skill. An AI that can program can build tools on demand to solve problems in nearly any digital domain, effectively simulating general competence. This makes mastery of code a form of instrumental, functional AGI for most economically valuable work.

AI reverses the long-standing trend of professional hyper-specialization. By providing instant access to specialist knowledge (e.g., coding in an unfamiliar language), AI tools empower individuals to operate as effective generalists. This allows small, agile teams to achieve more without hiring a dedicated expert for every function.

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.

With advanced AI, a marketing consultant who knows what "good" looks like can now deliver competent work in sales, finance, or operations. This expands their service offering from a single silo to a holistic advisory role, dramatically increasing their value to clients by solving problems across the entire business.