Superintelligent everything, everywhere. All at once.

A once-in-a-generation shift is happening, but most people seem to be missing the ACTUAL shift.

We all agree AI is here to stay. It’s a one-way door. We cannot go back. But I think we have a blindspot.

Racing a spaceship

Everyone’s rushing to make their work more efficient with AI - automating tasks, speeding up workflows, even cutting significant percentages of companies in the pursuit of efficiency (2024 saw more than 150,000 job cuts according?Layoffs.fyi)

The mistake most are making is in thinking AI is just a faster way to do our current work, like upgrading from a typewriter to a computer. That is enables a new level of efficiency for us.

And it makes sense for us to think this way.

When we faced big changes before, the outcome was usually to do the same things faster. The assembly line was a faster way to build cars. Email was a faster way to send letters. Even the internet started as a faster way to do things we already did.

That “faster = good” approach worked because the fundamental nature of work stayed the same.

But this time it’s different.

It's like bringing a spaceship to a car race and using it as a really fast car.

You're missing the point: the spaceship can fly.

I think we’re in a paradigm shift so big, we cannot fully grasp it.

We’re moving from super efficient organisations toward super intelligent organisations.

That distinction matters more than you might think.

Efficiency is about doing the same things faster. Intelligence is about doing things better.

For the past century, we've organised work like a factory: clear roles, clear responsibilities, clear hierarchy. This made sense when jobs were stable and tasks were predictable. But AI has changed the entire context of how we work. If you’re a knowledge worker like me, it’s likely already embedded in some of your workday. Its, for better or worse, so helpful that I’m already at the “wait, how did I used to manage?” stage.

In an odd kind of way, nobody will work alone ever again.

We all have a super intelligence as a co-pilot.

AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs

And two-thirds of jobs in the U.S. and Europe "are exposed to some degree of AI automation"

That sounds scary until you understand what's really happening.

Think about your current job. It's probably a collection of tasks that someone bundled together years ago. Some tasks need deep expertise, others just need someone to show up. Some you enjoy, others you dread. Some give you energy, others feel like nails on a chalkboard.

Right now, we can think of AI through the lens of jobs to be done. You “hire” AI to handle the tasks you don’t want to do. The more narrow and specific the task, the more effective AI is. But for me, this creates an interesting “what comes next question” that nobody seems to be talking about….

What happens when we move the spotlight from task completion (cool but not a paradigm shift) toward learning and improving?

Think about what it means when your organisation gets smarter every day.

Not gradually smarter, like humans learning on the job, but exponentially smarter.

What happens when every process you create becomes outdated almost as soon as you make it?

When skills become obsolete because tech advanced?

When the line between training and execution vanishes - when work itself becomes a continuous learning loop?

What happens when your organization's pace of learning outstrips any individual's capacity to keep up?

And of course, what happens when you’re big, slow, old large corporation simply can’t keep up with the technology developments, no matter how much money you throw at “organisational transformation?”

The traditional way we've built companies simply wasn't designed for this kind of rapid evolution that we’re now living in.

Everything breaks.

And alas, this changes everything.

Learning Infrastructure.

A different way of working calls for a different operating infrastructure.

Most company operating systems were built for a world where change was slower and more predictable. They have annual planning cycles, fixed job descriptions, and rigid (unquestioned) organisational structures.

I’ve designed GW to focus less on looking backwards and more on looking inwards + forwards. The core of Learning Infrastructure is something I call the Learning Engine. Think of it like the circulatory system of a company. Every project, meeting, and decision feeds information into it.

We don’t just track what happened (eg: did we hit the KPI?) - we capture what we learned.

Did we find a better way to solve a problem?

What did we learn about our customer?

Did we spot a pattern we could use elsewhere?

This creates Learning Loops.

Instead of organising people by department or function, you map how different skills and knowledge flow through the company. This helps you spot gaps, find unexpected connections, and quickly bring the right people together to solve new problems.

Work needs to change completely.

Instead of departments based on old job titles, I believe successful companies will organise around four types of thinkers:

Innovators: visionaries, builders, tinkerers

Connectors: of people, ideas, technology

Translators: synthesising the complex into simple

Systems thinkers: building the systems that make everything go

Not sure which you are? Take the quiz

But these aren't separate jobs. They're more like different hats that everyone wears at different times. This is how we operate at @Generalist World

While I naturally gravitate toward innovation, Lindsey Lerner toward connecting, Nikita Khandwala toward translating, and Ece Kurtaraner toward systems thinking, the real magic happens when these modes of thinking flow together.

We call this the conveyor belt - where different types of thinking build on each other.

An innovator might spot a possibility, a connector sees how it links to an existing need, a translator makes it understandable to others, and a systems thinker figures out how to make it repeatable.

These roles aren't fixed - we switch between these modes as needed, picking up where others left off and, importantly, building on each other's work. This fluid approach to work might sound chaotic, but in practice it creates something remarkable: ideas that get better as they move through different ways of thinking.

It's less like an assembly line where each person does their specialised task, and more like a jam session where everyone contributes to making the music better.

Business is about to become more like art.

What does this teach us about human value in an AI world?

Fundamental human capabilities are about to become more important than ever. Not soft skills - power skills.

Recognising quality. Taste. Critical thinking. Clear thinking + writing. Delegating. Seeing hidden connections. Knowing which problems matter. Building trust. These are what make humans irreplaceable.

This leads me to a very spicy theory:

Eventually, there will be just one type of job - the generalist working with AI.

Not someone who knows a little about everything (RIP the Jack of all trades master of none line!), but someone who excels at understanding contexts and orchestrating capabilities.

They won't need to memorise facts or master technical skills because AI will handle that. Their value comes from knowing which questions to ask, which buttons to push, who to collaborate with and which dots to connect.

And if you’ve made it this far, here’s an extra-dose-of-spice… ???

I think this role will only work 10 hours a week, while outputting the value of 40+ hours. Opening up more space for leisure, community, family, cultural and health focuses.

I guess time will tell ??

So here we are. A complete reset of how we work. A move from a world of specialists to one of generalists.

The organisations and individuals who get this first will shape what work looks like for everyone else.

The question isn't whether a paradigm shift is coming. It's how quickly and effectively you'll embrace it. Because superintelligence is a blink away from being everything, everywhere, all at once.

Join Generalist World ?? to be a part of the movement where work’s heading.

How we can help:

• Generalist? Join 17,000 others getting free frameworks, essays, opportunities to help you find your home at work (subscribe: www.generalist.world)
• Organisation? We can help you hire generalist talent quickly, we also run workshops to create energy and momentum for your org to stay ahead of the curve. Email [email protected] to book.