Every real org has the same topology: principal, role-holder, specialists. Staff AI maps onto it, node for node, and the cost collapse shows up in the deliverables that were always just human-handoff overhead.
Two frames for what AI is doing to work. The tool frame makes tools smarter. The staff frame makes roles unnecessary. Those aren’t the same product, the same company, or the same industry.
On roles, fleets, and the Hegelian reversal waiting at the end of the AI transition. The sequel to Knowledge Work Was Never Work and Apps Are Irrelevant.
I spent months building a meal planning app. This weekend I replaced it with two emails, a spreadsheet, and an AI model — and realized the stage I was racing toward wasn’t the destination.