Rethinking Expertise: AI, Problem Solving, and the End of Task Mastery

Recently I got to speak to 4th and 5th graders as part of the Hour of Code program. I found myself imparting a piece of advice that, I believe, holds the key to the future. It’s a simple, yet profoundly seismic shift in perspective: The era of mastering trades like computer programming for a respected and rewarding career is ebbing away, swept along by the relentless tide of AI innovation. What beckons is a horizon where problem solving reigns supreme, a realm where our value isn’t tethered to the crafts we’ve mastered but to the puzzles we piece together and the outcomes we forge from them.

I was a 5th grader myself when I first learned a valuable skill that changed my life. I learned to program in C. This skill, along with several more programming languages I’d pick up over the years, became my primary craft, and the foundation of my professional contributions throughout my career. So when I now look at how proficient AI already is in writing code, it’s clear that this skill which has unlocked so much opportunity for me during my life now feels like it’s inching towards obsolescence. It’s both awe inspiring and unnerving at the same time.

So, here’s the million-dollar question: How do we stay valuable when our go-to skill is something AI can do before we’ve had our morning coffee? The answer? Move further up the chain. We have to focus on solving problems, delivering outcomes, and less about performing tasks. Think about it — why did people come to us in the first place? What big puzzle were they hoping we’d help them solve?

For now, we should think of AI as our copilot, working side by side, sharing the keyboard if you will. But the time will come where AI will start steering more independently, if not taking the helm entirely solo. That’s when we need to make sure we’ve leveled up, not just as co-pilots but as navigators, the ones charting the course, the strategic minds mapping out the journey, defining the why and the wherefore of our voyage.

I tried to encourage these 4th and 5th graders, who would be the first generation ever to go into a workforce where many jobs done by humans will be done mostly or entirely by AI, to be the authors, creators, and designers of our world. To pick a problem that is important to them and to the world, and then dive in, using tech and AI as their toolbox for crafting solutions.

I had a blast sharing with them the magic of AI in bringing their own book ideas to life and coding a website using ChatGPT, DALL-E, and GitHub CoPilot. I also got to share with them my book, Riley & Bot: Jobs For Robots And Jobs For Me. The kids in return each crafted their own adorable robot as a thank you. I’m overwhelmed by their creativity and positivity!