The age of AI is upon us! Is there any point of learning new things anymore? The AI will do it much faster than we can ever do anyway. The future might feel a dark and gloomy these days especially if you are a knowledge worker. But maybe there is still some hope for us after all? Let’s find out if there is any value in learning new skills at this day and age or all is lost.

Working with AI agents

Nobody can predict the future. Everybody has their own guesses but as things stand today I’m certain of one thing: AI is a co-pilot and not auto-pilot. If you did any work by employing an AI-assistant you must have quickly noticed that it starts very fast and everything looks great when your work is still in “greenfield” stage. Then after a while, it loses context, starts hallucinating and break things. You start to go in circles. With every fix you notice it breaks something else. So you need to slow it down and completely be in charge. To be able to do that, you must have the skills and know-how to be in the driver seat.

Test working with AI on a completely new tech stack

If you don’t believe me and thinking that AI is doing most of the work by itself, try to create a new project with a tech stack you never used before. I guarantee you will lost so quickly and have no idea what’s going on. The second it breaks, you will be completely dependent on the AI-agent. As stated above, you will keep on asking it to fix it and it will keep on adding lots of more code while breaking more stuff in the process.

We are not in a stage to treat software projects as blackboxes. You can take your to a mechanic and you don’t need any knowledge of the internals of a car because you know the mechanic will almot guaranteed to fix it (if he can’t fix it you won’t be able to anyway). But when it comes to developing a software project you still need the full skillset as if you’re the only one that’s working on it. AI can help in that case, otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Don’t be dependent on a single employee

Things change. Even if you feel like you are happy in your job, your favourite manager can leave, you nca be reassigned to a different team etc. When you work in a team, things get more fragile. One hostile colleague is enough to ruin your entire day. You need your skills up-to-date and sharp so that you can make a move and find a better opportunity. Always be ready.

Build self-confidence by being the “go-to guy”

Be the person that other people come to you to seek advice and pick your brain, not the other way around. Being that person makes you feel much better about yourself. Not only you will feel more confident in the meetings, you will get more respect and admiration from your peers too.

Happiness comes from fulfillment - Mastery gives you fullfillment

Learning new skills and improving to a point of mastery, gives you the morale boost. People always think they will be happy in retirement after long years of misery. But it doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t come automatically. You need to fill your life with meaningful work. By work I don’t mean something you get paid for. It can be anything you enjoy doing. If you want to be happy in retirement, take up a hobby and get good at it. If you want to be happy at work, be good at your job.

Improve your brain health

Just like you need exercise to keep your muscles and keep in shape, you need to exercise your brain as well. Having discipline to read, research and learn will keep your brain healthy and active.

Conclusion

The question isn’t whether AI will change how we work - it already has. The real question is whether you’ll be driving that change or just along for the ride.

Yes, AI can generate code, write content, and solve problems faster than most humans. But speed isn’t everything. The person who combines deep skills with AI tools will always outperform someone who relies on AI alone. When the AI breaks down, hallucinates, or goes in circles, you need the expertise to take control and steer it back on track.

Beyond the professional benefits, learning new skills is an investment in yourself that pays dividends in confidence, mental health, and personal freedom. It’s the difference between being a passenger in your own career and being the pilot. In an age where change is the only constant, your ability to learn and adapt isn’t just valuable - it’s essential.

So pick up that programming language you’ve been curious about, learn that musical instrument gathering dust, or dive into that hobby you’ve been putting off. Your future self - and your brain - will thank you for it. The age of AI doesn’t make human skills obsolete; it makes the right human skills more valuable than ever.