I love BBQ. In the words of Aaron Franklin, “You only learn to make good BBQ by making bad BBQ”. It took years of trial and error to get to the point where I felt confident in my cooking. Details are important. Variables like the moisture content of wood and the color of the smoke (blue is good, white or dark is bad) affect the outcome. The quality of the meat is important too, although even a cheap slab can come out mouth-watering when prepared well. The rub you season the meat with can make a big difference, but as any Texas BBQ aficionado knows, all you really need is course salt and black pepper.
Enter the Pellet Smoker
When pellet smokers became popular, I had a bad attitude toward them and the people who used them. The main problem with pellet smokers is also their main benefit: that they’re relatively fool-proof. You turn a dial, set the smoke ratio, and an auger feeds wood pellets to keep the temperature steady. These pellets combust over fire to produce smoke. The chemical reaction that occurs is the same as burning logs, which adds a distinct flavor and creates the pink smoke ring. Pellet smokers offer an accessible way for people with no skill in barbecue to make good, authentic-tasting BBQ.
Set it and forget = BBQ blasphemy!
To me, cooking BBQ entails hovering around glowing embers in the darkness before dawn, tending to the fire when even the big city is silent, save for the crackling of logs and the chirping of the first bird to wake. It’s breathing in the sweet incense of salted meat as it wisps from the smokestack and weaves through the neighborhood. This is the BBQ ritual, and only after the ritual is complete (which can take 12-18 hours or more) do you find out if your sacrifice has appeased the BBQ Gods.
Fast-forward, and now some asshole who doesn’t know a thing about wood or fire is going on about how they just made a brisket for the first time and it came out great! And everybody is raving about it, and is like, “OMG that BBQ was the best, how did you do it?”, and the asshole is like, “OMG I got this pellet smoker, you should try the ribs I made!” Meanwhile, I used to be the BBQ guy, but now there’s a new person strutting around like a champion pitmaster, and they don’t have bags under their eyes or soot and splinters under their nails, and it doesn’t even smell like a campfire when they walk in the room.
F-you, pellet smokers.
AI: The Pellet Smoker of the Knowledge Economy
AI tools are the pellet smokers of the knowledge economy. Non-specialists can now produce work that looks “good enough”. And sometimes it actually is good enough. To those of us deeply invested in our craft, it can feel like a threat to both our value and identity.
But this isn’t new. Every leap forward in tools democratizes a skill. I studied graphic design and illustration in college, but found that many entry-level design jobs were filled by anyone who knew how to use Photoshop or desktop publishing tools. As web design emerged as a profession, many people with no design training found themselves in design roles simply because they learned how to write code or use the latest software. Those who could code well invested years learning how to write clean, performant, scalable code. Now, with tools like Wordpress, Wix, and Squarespace anyone can build a decent website without depending on a developer.
This can feel unfair. But democratization doesn’t erase expertise. It lowers the barrier of entry so that more people can help achieve similar desirable outcomes. So the question then becomes: what new value or opportunities emerge when everyone can do the old hard thing easily?
Dealing with the Loss of Differentiation
For experts, resistance to new tools and technology isn’t always a matter of ego. It is also an expression of grief. We grieve because we want our effort to be valued. We grieve when the rituals we mastered lose value as they become less necessary. We feel less special when something rare becomes common. That loss of differentiation sucks...so does the fear of displacement.
Coping starts with accepting that knowledge work is always in flux.
Job Stability vs. Volatility
Trades like carpentry or plumbing are relatively stable. The tools evolve, but the domain stays constant. Knowledge and hybrid-knowledge work (like design, dev, strategy, digital marketing, and research) is different. It’s shaped by technology, culture, economics, and organizational trends. As the context changes, so does the demand for certain jobs. Roles appear, shift, or vanish within decades.
Jobs that many of us built careers around didn’t exist 20 years ago; they were born from the emergent tech of the time. If they came into being because of a technological shift, why assume they’ll survive the next one?
The Hard Truth About Job Shelf Life
Reframing our attitude toward AI (or any new technology that poses a threat) is challenging if we crave the stability of trade work. But this is part of the trade-off we made when opting for these types of careers over careers in other sectors like service and hospitality, or skilled trades and labor.
These fields, which are also filled with people who have devoted their careers building expertise, aren’t impervious to disruption by AI, tech innovation, or the economy—it’s simply that the volatility of knowledge work gives our tools and niche skillsets a less predictable shelf-life.
Expertise Still Matters
Specializing isn’t a waste. The knowledge behind the work still matters; it just has to find new forms. In other words, the expression of the skill may shift (for example, from coding layouts to prompting systems), but the wisdom, domain knowledge, and problem-solving skills are transferable.
Ironically, as AI flattens the barrier to entry to what previously required specialized skillsets, newcomers will have a more difficult time accumulating the deep insight and wisdom gained through the pursuit of mastery.
Going from Gatekeeper to Guide
Those who have invested significant time learning and cultivating expertise are needed to maintain the bridge between output and outcomes. They are best suited for coaching, critiquing, and helping others see the difference between “good enough” and great.
And, by objectively evaluating the potential benefits and risks of AI (or the next disruptive technology), they’ll also be positioned to advise on strategies for adopting it responsibly and in ways that solve more problems than it creates.
Awkward Confession: I Bought a Pellet Smoker
Okay, confession time. I ended up getting a pellet smoker, and I use it often. If you use a pellet smoker, I apologize for calling you an asshole. I’m on your side now, even if you don’t know traditional BBQ methods. What changed my mind was realizing that pellet smokers raise the floor. What the world doesn’t need is more bad BBQ. Fewer bad briskets and more decent ones in the world is a good thing.
I realized that my petty beef with pellet smokers was a construct of my mindset. Everything I learned the hard way still makes me better, no matter which smoker I use. The pellet rig gives me convenience, so I BBQ more often. Sometimes I use logs, sometimes pellets. I can choose what fits the situation.
You are your own operating system
Same professionally. Your skills, experiences, and perspective are your differentiator, not a single tool or method.
Some leaders will see AI as a plug-and-play replacement for human judgment. That’s a people problem, not a technology problem. Your response matters:
- Stay curious instead of dismissing the technology.
- Look for opportunity in the democratization of skillsets.
- Advocate for how the role can adapt, not just for the tasks you’ve always done.
As change comes, refocus on how to channel your expertise into today’s context. Adapt workflows, shift outputs, mentor others, and pair existing skills with new ones to do things you couldn’t before.
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” — Eric Hoffer
Your programming language isn’t your identity.
Your mastery of grammar isn’t your identity.
Your tools aren’t your identity.
Everything you've learned and experienced compiles into a unique operating system that is “you”, and this is the source of your value. It’s up to you to decide how to develop and apply it to accommodate whatever the future holds.
