What remains valuable in the age of AI?

There is no shortage of predictions about which jobs and skills AI will replace.

I find a different question more useful: which abilities help us work well when AI is available?

A few come to mind:

• Domain understanding. You need to know enough about the problem to recognise whether a proposed answer makes sense.
• Judgment. AI can offer options, but someone still has to choose between them and live with the consequences.
• Verification. A confident answer is not the same as a correct one.
• Clear communication. Better context and better questions often lead to better outcomes.
• Continuous learning. Tools change quickly. The habit of adapting matters more than loyalty to one tool.

AI can extend what one person is capable of doing. That is the opportunity.

But using it well still requires us to bring something to the table. For me the goal is not to compete with AI at producing output. It is to use AI to do better work, while the responsibility for the result stays with us.