The best thing you can do right now, in the middle of an AI transition that nobody fully understands, is learn aggressively.

Not just how to login and use AI tools, or writing prompts for an Large Language Model to create something for you.

Only the educated are free.

Epictetus, Discourses

Learn the underlying logic of what agents actually are. Get into the weeds of what they can’t do and where they fail. And why some companies pulled ahead of others that are flailing.

Epictetus said it simply that only the educated are free. He meant it philosophically. But it applies here too. The people who understand what’s happening with AI aren’t panicking, and they aren’t frozen with doubt about what to do next.

They are making real decisions about their work, their teams and their careers based on actual knowledge instead of vibes and headlines. The ones who aren’t learning? They’re dependent.

They are dependent on their company’s strategy. On their manager’s judgment. And whatever the tech press decides to say this week about the latest AI development. That’s not freedom. That’s a risk because they are being led by those who know. Those who are educated about AI.

You don’t need to become an AI engineer. But you need to understand this transition well enough to have a real opinion about how it affects your work. Start there.