A brief reflection on the future of our professions as AI rises to prominence.

Until now, the cost of bringing a new product to market depended mainly on its design, which could quickly add up. Large corporations carved up the market thanks to economies of scale and industrialization, allowing them to compete with the expertise of a craftsman while relying on low-skilled or unskilled workers.

With AI, this production cost is collapsing. Anyone can now create or replicate in a few hours what used to take months of work. Industry will have to readjust its costs and workforce, pushing many technical professionals into direct competition.

Many will seize the opportunity to start their own ventures. You might see it as a renaissance of craftsmanship at the expense of heavy industry, but there is a trap: craftsmanship derived its value from the scarcity of know-how. If everything can be copied at scale, the market risks being flooded with an unlimited supply of average quality.

Scarcity is therefore shifting sides. When designing costs nothing, value no longer lies in the ability to build, but in the ability to distribute and stand out. The real barrier to entry is no longer R&D, but customer acquisition, the cost of which is about to skyrocket.

We are entering the era of the solopreneur, where community, personal branding, and the ability to capture attention will make all the difference.

And this concerns all of us: tech professionals, publishers, and authors alike.