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Tradition's Demise, but the Rise of a Golden Age

^{I’m sorry (again) for making it longer than 5 minutes, but it’s 8 minutes that you’ll enjoy!}

We’ve seen this movie before, just with different actors.

Once upon a time we had horses, then we got cars; we had boats, then we got planes; we had paper _{(sorry to my gf who works at a paper company lol - luv u)}, then we got computers.

Some ways of doing things transformed, while some faded to our boring history books.

But AI feels like it’s changing things even faster and disrupting every traditional path:

Do I agree with this hot take? Not really — two weeks is obviously a stretch, BUT…

This tweet strikes a nerve.

Reading the term “AI” above may have made you roll your eyes or gave you heartburn, but no matter how it makes you feel, you should prepare yourself.

Why? Because the old ways are dying and transforming again. The gatekeepers of knowledge and skills are declining _{(cue weird Nosferatu music)}

As with any major tech breakthrough, AI is real, but it has shattered records, reaching 1 million users in five days:

Despite this insanely rapid adoption, it still feels like we’re in kind of an IYKYK phase. A lot of people aren’t giving much thought to AI.

For example, I’m drowning in AI (Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT - the whole menu), using it almost every day. But then I talk to coworkers, friends, even family who barely use it!

Which reminded me of this:

I think early adopters of AI are definitely gaining a huge advantage, but at no harm to others, since this isn’t some zero-sum game over finite resources — anyone can use it!

But don’t just take it from me _{(a dork)}.

Check out this ultra-wealthy entrepreneur, Pieter Levels _{(bigger dork),} operating at a god-tier level with AI:

Although, as individuals, we’re still in this strange, varying-use stage, it looks like we’re rapidly entering the “oh shit, it’s changing every traditional way of doing things everywhere.”

Look at the corporate giants, like Goldman Sachs, which is using AI to draft IPO prospectuses in minutes – a task that used to take a team of highly skilled professionals weeks to complete:

Get ready for an AI transition that’ll blow your mind.

I’m pretty sure the jump from January 2025 to January 2026 in AI will bring so much change that the old heads will walk into the office with Daddy Day Care-levels of shock

Here are some examples of professions prime to be upgraded with AI:

Writing code: 📈 AI writing software code in minutes, reviewed by engineers
—> 📉 software engineers on their computers typing code for days = faster and better websites, apps, etc.

Science & Research: 📈 AI helping invent scientific discoveries every week — from cures for diseases to industry improvements (better batteries, data centers, construction methods, clean energy, etc.)
—> 📈 scientific discoveries that would've taken us decades to being invented in 2026

Education: 📈 AI-tutors
—> 📉 education inequality, as students everywhere save years of learning

Just look at what happened in Nigeria:

6 weeks of after-school AI tutoring = 2 years of typical learning gains!!!
And many of these kids had never used a computer!

The Democratization 🤢 of Expertise

The growth of AI feels like not just the continuation of this circle of life, in which we adopt new tech and upend tradition. It’s an acceleration of this, especially over this last decade of tech, which has given us convenient options for nearly everything:

• Why meet up with friends when you can get that feeling of entertainment and connection from Netflix and Instagram?

• Why go to a bar or activity when you can shoot your shot on dating apps?

• Why go join a church, club, or group when you can find a forum on Reddit?

Don’t get me wrong — I don’t think these are better options, since these platforms offer a different, less fulfilling kind of connection, but they feel real and have become the default for many people.

AI will probably further blur these lines, creating even more immersive and personalized virtual experiences that could rival real-world interactions better than current tech like TikTok.

Just look at this woman who fell in love with ChatGPT (already!!).

This may extend our anti-social century even further, but AI will also bring real-world benefits, beyond more convenience and comfort, by giving us more access.

What access, you ask?

Access to information that will allow people to bypass the old gatekeepers of knowledge and status – universities, exclusive networks, expensive certifications.

Let’s look at a current example of this — YouTube. Why go and pay a coach to meet every week and be taught a sport, when you can just watch YouTube lessons? Sounds stupid, I know…

But as writer Trung Phan explains, YouTube unlocked “a form of mass-scale tacit knowledge transmission which is historically unprecedented, facilitating the preservation and spread of knowledge that might otherwise have been lost” and only have been taught in-person.

This photo below is from Trung’s post, where he tells the story of Julius Yego (below on the right), the Olympic javelin thrower who learned from YouTube. He didn't have access to elite coaching, so he turned to the internet. And it worked. He became a champion, not in spite of the lack of traditional training, but because of the unique, accessible knowledge he found online, learning from the athlete on the left, Thorkildsen.

If YouTube opened the gate, AI is going to tear it down completely. Maybe not for everybody, but definitely for more than the current status quo allows.

We're entering a Golden Age of growth, fueled by readily available, AI-powered knowledge.

Say goodbye to the days of having to move to another country or shelling out for expensive degrees to get ahead.

AI tutors, mentors, and assistants will be available to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

The End of Status Signals?

This democratization of knowledge may have a wild side effect: eroding traditional status signals.

What happens when everyone has access to the same information, the same skills, the same "elite" knowledge?

As more people opt for these new ways of using AI, these once exclusive realms of access may lose their importance and status in the world:

• The MBA: Will it still hold the same prestige when AI can provide the same level of business acumen to anyone who goes deep enough?

• The Perfect Body: Will it still be a symbol of status when advanced (and potentially controversial) technologies are sped up by AI, building on things like Ozempic, to where people won’t just lose weight, but gain the benefits of exercise with injections?

  _{P.S. it already works in mice…}

A Note of Caution to End On

While we embrace this Golden Age, it's worth considering a possibility.

Past civilizations _{(bear with me here)} have crumbled when knowledge was lost to war or natural disasters that wiped out multiple generations at once.

What happens if we outsource too much to AI, if we become so reliant on it that we lose the ability to think critically, to solve problems independently, to create without its support?

Or would it just be temporary, like Gen Zers who manage to restore their attention spans after cutting off TikTok?

Future generations may delegate everything to this new tech and its sibling technology.

So if our access to AI is disrupted by some disaster… are we cooked?

Thanks for taking the Pack,

Zach

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Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or recommendation for any investment. The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.