AI is not eliminating expertise. It’s changing where it’s applied.

Every time a new tool emerges, people predict the end of a profession. It happened with WYSIWYG tools coupled with mass layoffs in the early 2000s—people thought it would replace front-end developers. So believe it or not, I believed the hype and switched careers. But Dreamweaver was just a WYSIWYG tool, not a revolution. It didn’t eliminate the need for engineers; it just changed the workflow. In fact, as tools like that emerged, the engineering stack became more complex, not simpler. We moved from writing raw HTML to managing frameworks, libraries, and reusable systems. The complexity didn’t go away—it evolved.

AI is much bigger than WYSIWYG. It’s not just a new tool—it’s a paradigm shift. But just like past revolutions in engineering and design, it’s not eliminating expertise; it’s changing where it’s applied. Instead of hand-coding every UI element, engineers now focus on system architecture, automation, and scalability. Instead of spending hours on repetitive tasks, designers refine workflows, enhance creativity, and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

And yet, we keep seeing the same clickbait: "I built an app in 60 minutes with AI!" Yeah, and it was terrible. Shipping a working prototype is easy—building something that scales, performs well, and delivers real value is a whole different game. AI might help you spin up an MVP faster, but it won’t replace the deep expertise needed to refine, optimize, and grow a product.

Churning out garbage at scale

This whole AI-driven “move fast” mindset reminds me of working with someone who is hungry—they execute quickly, churn out work at record speed, but they don’t actually absorb the requirements or think through the problem. They just build. And build. And build. Without ever stepping back to ask: Should this even be built?

That’s exactly what AI is doing right now. It generates, it iterates, it produces—without truly understanding the constraints, edge cases, or larger strategy. If you've ever worked with someone who blindly executes without grasping the problem, you know how much time gets wasted fixing their work. AI is in that stage right now. It helps, but without the right human guidance, it churns out garbage at scale.

AI is an Accelerator, Not a Solution

The idea that solo founders can use AI to go from idea to scale without a team is a fantasy. AI is an accelerator, not a replacement. You still need engineers who understand architecture, designers who create intuitive experiences, and operators who can turn a product into a business.

AI can generate code, suggest layouts, and optimize performance, but it doesn’t replace human taste, intuition, or deep domain expertise. The best engineers and designers won’t be out of a job—they’ll be the ones using AI to push boundaries even further.

I look forward to seeing engineers and designers take AI’s power and use it to build even more impactful tools—ones that accelerate their work, enhance creativity, and unlock new possibilities we haven’t even imagined yet.

Let’s stop acting like innovation means extinction. It never has.