Changing of value in the market place

AI is completely changing the value of skills in the marketplace.

The rule in capitalism is: what is scarce has high value; what is abundant has low value. This has really nothing to do with the intrinsic value of something. It is only a rule in capitalism.

A Shaolin Monk in the Marketplace

A funny example: If a Shaolin Monk is forced to move to a big city—where he has no contacts—he would need to do something for a living. Every company would be able to pay him only for the value he can offer to the company. A supermarket would offer him some dollars per hour because his job is to transport wares in the store. His skills remain the same, but the value the marketplace is willing to pay him depends a lot on the company.

What a Shaolin Monk would need to do—because he already has great valuable skills—is probably to open a school of martial arts or become a coach in mindfulness. The marketplace has clear rules, and every person needs to navigate them.

Transition

Therefore, it is important to constantly recognize the skills needed in the marketplace and work on them. At the same time, recognize your own skills and place them in the right place.

What Gains Value

• Unique data and domain expertise: Proprietary datasets for fine-tuning AI models become premium assets, as generic code commoditizes.
• AI orchestration and strategy: Skills in prompting, integrating agents, and business alignment skyrocket in demand.​
• Verification, ethics, and security: Human judgment for auditing AI outputs and ensuring compliance grows critical.​

What Loses Value

• Routine coding and boilerplate dev: Junior roles and repetitive tasks plummet, with AI handling 70%+ of lines written.
• Traditional dev teams: Fewer engineers needed per project (down 40%), shifting to small, high-skill groups.
• Offshore outsourcing: AI levels the field, eroding low-cost labor advantage

And here one more time context engineering plays a key role. I gave NotebookLM my article as input (https://juancarlosps.com/2026/03/14/the-magic-of-context/), and it created this presentation.

If you have any questions how to apply context engineering in your field, write me a message: .cpfiel.ai@gmail.com

Juan Carlos