Let me paint a picture that sounds like science fiction but isn't.
Take an expert in building codes. Add a bipedal robot with cameras and sensors. Throw in augmented reality headsets. Now put them together.
Suddenly, an inspector in Australia can evaluate a high-rise in Brazil. They see through the robot's eyes. AR overlays the building plans, highlights areas of concern, flags potential violations. The expert provides judgment. The robot provides presence.
This isn't theoretical. The components exist today. Ford is already using AR remote support to let technicians connect with experts who guide them through complex repairs in real-time. Researchers have built systems where remote operators control robotic arms through AR interfaces. Drones conduct inspections while experts view augmented feeds from anywhere in the world.
The pieces are coming together. And when they do, the nature of expert work changes forever.
This is Part 4 of a 4-part series on AI and the future of work. Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3.
The Expert Becomes Infinitely Scalable
In the old model, an expert could only be in one place at a time. Their value was constrained by geography and schedule. If you needed the best structural inspector in the world, you paid to fly them to your location.
In the new model, that expert can work ten jobs simultaneously across ten continents. The robot provides the physical presence. The AR provides the enhanced vision. The expert provides the judgment.
This is incredibly powerful for the expert. Your market becomes global. Your hourly rate reflects that you're no longer competing with local inspectors but positioning yourself as the world-class option available anywhere.
It's also powerful for companies needing expertise. Why settle for the best local option when the best global option is a video call away?
But What Is the Expert Actually Expert In?
This is where it gets interesting.
Is the expert's value their knowledge? Partly. But AI is getting pretty good at knowledge.
Is it their wisdom? The pattern recognition that comes from years of experience, the ability to notice things that aren't in any manual? Yes, but that's not all.
A significant part of the expert's value is liability.
When that high-rise has a catastrophic issue that makes it uninhabitable, someone needs to be accountable. The bipedal robot company doesn't want that liability. The AI developer doesn't want it either, even though their systems got the inspection 95% of the way there.
Someone human needs to be on the hook. Someone needs to sign off, take responsibility, carry the professional insurance.
The Liability Stack
In the physical world, decisions have physical consequences. Buildings collapse. Equipment fails. Products harm people.
AI can assist with these decisions. It can analyze, recommend, flag risks. But when something goes wrong, the AI doesn't go to jail. The AI doesn't lose its professional license. The AI doesn't face civil liability.
We still need humans in the accountability chain. And the more consequential the decision, the more valuable that human position becomes.
This creates a hierarchy for how expert work will be valued going forward:
Wisdom first. The judgment that comes from experience, from having seen things go wrong, from understanding the subtleties that don't appear in data.
Skills second. The technical capabilities to do the work, whether through robotic extension or traditional hands-on methods.
AI third. The amplification that makes experts more efficient, more thorough, more connected.
Notice what's at the bottom. AI is a multiplier, but it's not the foundation. The foundation is still human wisdom and human accountability.
Mike Rowe Was Right
Years ago, Mike Rowe started advocating for skilled trades. Learn a skill. Do work that matters. Don't assume a desk job is the only path to value.
That message is more relevant than ever.
The K economy is going to create enormous pressure on people who process information for a living. Middle management, administrative roles, knowledge work that's primarily about synthesizing and summarizing. AI eats those jobs.
But the electrician who shows up when something's wrong? The welder who can't be replaced by a robot in tight spaces? The HVAC technician who troubleshoots systems that were installed before digital documentation existed?
These roles require physical presence, judgment under pressure, and accountability for outcomes. They're resistant to AI displacement in ways that many white-collar jobs aren't.
The advice I'd give to someone starting their career: get skills that involve physical reality. Learn to do things that require you to be somewhere, touching something, responsible for an outcome.
AI will make you better at those jobs. But it won't replace the need for you to show up.
The Convergence Is Coming
We're heading toward a world where:
- Niche experts work globally through robotic and AR extensions
- AI handles the 95% that's routine and predictable
- Humans handle the 5% that requires wisdom, judgment, and liability
- Physical skills become more valuable, not less
- The people who can combine domain expertise with AI leverage and physical-world accountability will be extraordinarily valuable
The question for each of us is: where do you fit in that picture?
Are you building wisdom that can't be automated? Are you developing skills that require physical presence? Are you prepared to take accountability for outcomes in a world where AI assists but doesn't own the consequences?
These are the questions that will define careers in the next decade.
Series Conclusion
Across these four posts, I've tried to lay out how AI changes the value equation for work:
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Jobs aren't disappearing, but middle management is. Your value will be measured by how well you combine AI leverage with domain expertise.
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Ideas are becoming the real IP. Building is getting easier. Knowing what to build is the differentiator.
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The K economy is creating explicit scoring. You'll be measured on AI skills, domain expertise, and increasingly, your ability to think without AI.
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Expert work is becoming global and physical. Wisdom, skills, and accountability matter more than ever.
The future belongs to experts. People who know things deeply, can work across physical and digital worlds, and are willing to be accountable for outcomes.
In the alignment of Mike Rowe: get skills. Do work that matters. Be someone who can't be easily replaced.
That's always been good advice. It's just more urgent now.
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