The printing press made literacy accessible to most of the world. AI is doing the same thing for competency.
I was chatting with Todd Webb about AI recently, and he raised this analogy. It stuck with me.
For centuries, literacy was a differentiator. If you could read and write, you had access to knowledge and opportunity others didn’t. The printing press changed that. It didn’t make everyone Shakespeare, but it made reading accessible to almost everyone.
AI is now doing this for professional competency.
Everyone Has Access Now
You don’t need years of training to write solid code anymore. You don’t need a CPA to understand complex accounting principles. You don’t need to memorize case law to draft a legal document. You don’t even need medical school to interpret diagnostic patterns.
Studies show AI tools are closing skill gaps across professions—the largest gains go to workers who previously had the least expertise. A junior developer can now produce code at senior quality. A paralegal can draft briefs that previously required years of legal training. The competency floor has risen dramatically.
What does this mean for a job market built entirely on the idea that competency differentiates people?
The Hierarchy Problem
Professional hierarchies exist because competency was scarce. Senior engineers got paid more because they knew more. Partners at law firms commanded high fees because their expertise was rare. Specialists in medicine charged premiums because few people had their knowledge.
But what happens when competency becomes abundant?
If everyone can access the same level of professional skill through AI, what becomes the new differentiator? Is it vision? Taste? Relationships? Something else entirely?
The job market doesn’t have an answer yet. We’re still operating on old assumptions while the foundation shifts beneath us.
The Questions We’re Not Asking
Here’s what keeps me wonder:
If competency is democratized, does professional education still make sense? Why spend four years in medical school if AI can help you diagnose as well as a doctor?
If junior employees can produce senior-level work with AI assistance, what does career progression look like? What are you progressing toward?
If expertise becomes a commodity, what happens to the knowledge economy?
The Printing Press Didn’t Kill Authors
The printing press didn’t eliminate the need for great writers. It just changed what mattered. Literacy became common. Exceptional writing became valuable.
AI won’t eliminate the need for professionals. But it will change what makes you valuable.
The question is: are you ready for that shift?
Because competency alone won’t cut it anymore. Everyone has access to that now.