I’m not here to bore you with the science of AI—that’s for you to dig into on your own. My goal is to make you street-smart about AI, to help you grasp what’s really happening and how to navigate this seismic shift.
AI didn’t start with ChatGPT, but it might as well have
AI wasn’t born when ChatGPT dropped in 2022, despite what it felt like. Google DeepMind, xAI, and others have been tinkering with this tech for decades. But ChatGPT’s launch was a wake-up call. It signaled the industry to stop sitting on the sidelines and scale AI fast. The race was on.
This isn’t just a tech race—it’s a battle for global dominance. Whoever masters AI will hold the keys to nearly everything: economies, militaries, societies. And it’s not just a U.S. story. China’s AI capabilities are formidable, and they’re not slowing down. Underestimate them at your peril.
Why AI is a game-changer (and a Danger)
AI fundamentally rewires how the world works. For the last century, capitalism and communism argued over one thing: how to allocate capital to labor. Money, at its core, is a proxy for human effort. Now, we’ve built a technology that delivers labor at a fraction of the cost of a human. Let that sink in. It changes everything.
Consider the global chessboard:
- Taiwan: Beyond historical ties with China, it’s home to TSMC, which produces 90% of the GPU chips powering the AI revolution. Control TSMC, and you control AI’s hardware backbone.
- Ukraine: Before the war, it supplied 90% of the U.S.’s semiconductor-grade neon gas, critical for chip production. It holds Europe’s largest lithium deposits (over 500,000 tons) for AI data center batteries and is a top gallium producer for semiconductors. Notice where Russia first struck? Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, where these resources are concentrated.
AI isn’t just about chatbots or cool apps—it’s a matter of national security. It’s dangerous because it disrupts power structures at a scale we’ve never seen.
What’s coming: The change tsunami
AI’s potential is staggering, and it’s moving faster than most realize. Public AI systems are doubling in capability every six months. A startup built today could be obsolete by next quarter. Here’s what’s on the horizon:
- Warfare: Low-cost drones (some as cheap as $2,000) are already taking out tanks. AI-driven autonomy will reshape battlefields.
- Medicine: Personalised treatments, AI diagnostics, and radiology could slash healthcare costs.
- Manufacturing: Autonomous robotics will crater production costs.
- White collar work: Information processing—legal, financial, administrative—will be augmented or replaced.
The speed of this change is brutal. Blink, and you’re behind.
The four essential AI skills
To thrive in this AI-driven world, you need four key skills. Master these, and you’ll be unstoppable. Ignore them, and you’re toast.
- Persuasion: You must articulate AI’s value, convince others to adapt, and sell your vision. Without this, your technical skills are worthless.
- Coding (Broadly Defined): You don’t need to be a traditional programmer, but you must manipulate systems to harness AI’s power. This includes:
- Traditional coding: Still useful, but not the future’s main path.
- UI-based platforms: Tools like Microsoft Copilot Studio, N8N, or Botpress let you build AI systems without deep coding.
- Vibe coding: AI-assisted coding platforms like Cursor (now valued at $9B) or Windsurf (acquired by OpenAI for $3B) are exploding. They’ve gotten 1,000x more powerful in under a year. Learn them.
- AI mindset: Know the models (e.g., Grok, GPT, Llama), their strengths, limitations, and costs. No single model does it all. You need to pick the right tool for the job and reimagine business processes with AI at the core. This skill is teachable, and it’s what this guide is about.
- Domain expertise: AI amplifies expertise. You need deep knowledge in a field—healthcare, finance, logistics—to apply AI effectively. The good news? AI can accelerate how fast you learn a new domain, making expertise more accessible than ever.
The karate of our time: using AI requires power with responsibility
Learning AI is like learning karate. You don’t walk into your first class and start throwing punches. You learn the principles: when to fight, when to hold back, and how to use power wisely. AI is the same. It’s a tool of immense power, but it demands discipline.
After one karate lesson, you’d get crushed by a seasoned fighter. AI is no different—start small, build skills, and practice. Right now, the AI “mat” is sparsely populated, giving you time to train. But soon, more will join, and the skilled will dominate. If you’re not ready, you’ll be left in the dust.
Conclusion
AI will create “super students” who master it and crush traditional systems. This will be chaotic, and no government can fully control it. History proves this. Before the Industrial Revolution, 90% of the UK worked on farms. By its end, only 10% did. Entire populations were displaced, leading to events like the founding of Australia.
AI’s disruption will be faster and bigger. You can’t stop it, but you can ride the wave. Learn the skills, adopt the mindset, and stay agile. The future belongs to those who act now.