SKILL USED TO BE ENOUGH.
LEARN TO CODE. MASTER DESIGN TOOLS. GET GOOD AT WRITING. EXECUTE CLEANLY.
THAT WAS THE GAME. THE BETTER YOUR SKILLS, THE MORE VALUABLE YOU WERE.
NOT ANYMORE.
AI COLLAPSED THE SKILL PREMIUM. IT CAN CODE. IT CAN DESIGN. IT CAN WRITE. FAST. CHEAP. GOOD ENOUGH.
HERE'S WHAT AI CAN'T DO. IT CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT'S WORTH MAKING.
THAT'S TASTE.
SKILL IS EXECUTION. TASTE IS DIRECTION.
SKILL ANSWERS HOW. TASTE ANSWERS WHAT AND WHY.
WE'RE MOVING FROM A SKILL ECONOMY TO A TASTE ECONOMY.
THINK ABOUT IT. ANYONE CAN GENERATE A THOUSAND LOGOS NOW. AI DOES IT IN SECONDS.
BUT WHICH ONE IS RIGHT? WHICH ONE CAPTURES THE FEELING? WHICH ONE WORKS?
THAT'S TASTE. AND TASTE IS SUDDENLY THE BOTTLENECK.
HERE'S THE DIAGRAM THAT EXPLAINS THIS.
THREE AXES. SKILL. TASTE. GRIND.
OLD WORLD: HIGH SKILL, MEDIUM TASTE, HIGH GRIND WINS. YOU EXECUTE WELL AND YOU WORK HARD.
NEW WORLD: MEDIUM SKILL, HIGH TASTE, LOW GRIND WINS. YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD AND YOU LET AI DO THE WORK.
THE GRIND AXIS IS COLLAPSING. VOLUME DOESN'T MATTER WHEN MACHINES PRODUCE INFINITE OPTIONS INSTANTLY.
THE SKILL AXIS IS COMPRESSING. TECHNICAL ABILITY STILL MATTERS BUT IT'S NO LONGER THE DIFFERENTIATOR.
THE TASTE AXIS IS EXPANDING. THIS IS WHERE ALL THE VALUE WENT.
KNOWING WHAT'S GOOD. KNOWING WHAT RESONATES. KNOWING WHAT MATTERS.
YOU CAN'T TEACH TASTE THE WAY YOU TEACH SKILL. SKILL HAS A CURRICULUM. TASTE DEVELOPS THROUGH EXPOSURE.
SKILL SCALES LINEARLY. PRACTICE MORE, GET BETTER. TASTE SCALES EXPONENTIALLY. THE MORE YOU SEE, THE FASTER YOUR JUDGMENT IMPROVES.
HERE'S WHAT THIS MEANS FOR WORK.
DESIGNERS STOP BEING PHOTOSHOP OPERATORS. THEY BECOME ART DIRECTORS.
WRITERS STOP BEING SENTENCE CRAFTERS. THEY BECOME EDITORS.
DEVELOPERS STOP BEING CODE WRITERS. THEY BECOME ARCHITECTS.
THE VALUABLE SKILL IS KNOWING WHAT TO MAKE. NOT MAKING IT.
AI DOES THE MAKING. YOU DO THE DECIDING.
THIS FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE. WE WERE TRAINED TO VALUE EXECUTION SPEED. NOW EXECUTION SPEED IS INFINITE.
WE NEED TO RETRAIN OURSELVES TO VALUE JUDGMENT SPEED.
CAN YOU LOOK AT TEN OPTIONS AND KNOW INSTANTLY WHICH ONE WORKS? CAN YOU FEEL WHAT'S MISSING? CAN YOU ARTICULATE WHY SOMETHING IS ALMOST RIGHT BUT NOT QUITE?
THAT'S THE NEW SKILL. IT'S ACTUALLY TASTE WEARING A SKILL COSTUME.
THE GRIND PEOPLE ARE SCARED. THE ONES WHO WON BY WORKING HARDER. BY PRODUCING MORE. BY OUTEXECUTING EVERYONE.
VOLUME IS WORTHLESS NOW. QUALITY OF JUDGMENT IS EVERYTHING.
HERE'S THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH. SOME PEOPLE HAVE BETTER TASTE THAN OTHERS.
WITH SKILL YOU COULD ALWAYS PRACTICE MORE. WITH TASTE SOME PEOPLE JUST SEE IT AND SOME DON'T.
THAT FEELS UNFAIR. IT IS UNFAIR.
BUT IT'S ALSO REALITY. THE ECONOMY IS REORGANIZING AROUND WHO HAS GOOD TASTE.
YOU CAN DEVELOP TASTE. LOOK AT MORE THINGS. TRAIN YOUR EYE. BUILD YOUR REFERENCES. UNDERSTAND WHAT WORKS AND WHY.
BUT YOU CAN'T GRIND YOUR WAY TO TASTE. IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT.
THE PEOPLE WHO WIN IN THE NEXT DECADE WON'T BE THE MOST SKILLED. THEY'LL BE THE ONES WITH THE BEST JUDGMENT.
THEY'LL KNOW WHAT'S WORTH MAKING. WHAT'S WORTH SAYING. WHAT'S WORTH BUILDING.
AND THEY'LL LET AI HANDLE THE REST.
