In 2012 Ross Dawson observed that “in a connected world, unless your skills are world-class, you are a commodity”. Fast forward to the dawn of 2026:
Here’s what AI did. It drove the cost of nearly every signal to zero. Resumes used to cost time and thought. Now they cost a prompt. Cover letters used to reveal how someone thinks. Now they reveal which model they used. But companies did the same thing. They replaced judgment with AI screeners. Now you have two AIs talking to each other. One generating signals. One evaluating them. Neither connected to anything real. —David Arnoux
I noted in continuing to step aside that Generative AI is showing that transactional relationships are easily replicable. Our educational systems and many of our workplaces are based on transactional relationships — You do X and I give you Y. The cost of these relationships is trending to zero.
A few years ago my wife purchased an etching press from Michel Dupont in Québec. We spent several hours with him as he showed how the machine worked and what could be done with it. He is an accomplished print maker, showing works all over the world. But his business was almost obliterated by computer graphics. Most of his potential clients were satisfied with ‘just good enough’ work. They did not want his unique artistic impressions. Even for someone who is world class, the computer algorithms adversely affected his business.
Much of AI-generated (GPT/LLM) work is good enough, so our work has to be better than good enough.
I think this will be a major concern for the near future. How can we develop unique world-class skills and who is willing to pay for these? It means that work is learning and learning is the work, for everyone. Locally I see that those who are gainfully employed are the tradespeople. We have hired several recently and the good ones are always occupied. As part of the older generation now, I believe that my work is in helping to connect people and ideas to develop lifelong learning skills. That’s my work for 2026.
Happy new year!
I want to learn and do screen printing, more as a creative outlet, I think it’s better than paying for therapy! :)
You prompted a thought. Not everyone can be world class, I don’t think, or we’ll continue to narrow the list so that only a ‘Dunbar’s number’ is truly considered so. Then, in a connected world, what do the rest do? We already have a world that over-celebrates ‘celebrity’, and while the skills of actors and sportsters and the like are superlative and rightly well-regarded, only the few rise unnaturally high in profile and remuneration. I like your idea of local expertise, and so wonder about focusing more on local talent – products and productions – than national or international? Can we tone down the attention (and rewards) for the high flyers, and celebrate those nearby whose skills we admire. I fear I’m working on a ‘tall poppy’ syndrome (where the top get cut off), but I’m wondering how we level the playing field. I’m not sure we can generate sufficient credibility by developing individual skills, maybe we need to fix the system?
Definitely. Fixing the system is what should be done. I’m just not sure that will happen in our lifetime.
A germane question…fixing the system. What if we are in the wrong system? The frantic pace of achievement, of growth, of best practice…..
What would a post growth system look like?
Smelling the roses again, revelling in the beauty of difference, permanence, health and beauty. Every life bespoke. Live your own story, not someone else’s.
Imagine …
Do you view learning as a means to an end? Or an end in itself?
Learning how to learn in order to make better decisions and take informed action would be the objective (end), in my view.
A form of humility and self-correctiveness then?
Aye! https://jarche.com/2024/01/curiosity-and-humility/
“The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge.” —Aristotle