The Rise of Generalists in the AI Era

Hello!

It’s Thursday, 17^th April 2025. Welcome to Bold Efforts, where we unravel what the future of work really looks like beneath the hype, beyond the headlines. Today, we explore the emerging edge of adaptability in a world that won't sit still. The rise of the generalists in the age of AI is going to be the theme of the next few decades.

First time reading? Join over 400 intellectually curious readers. Sign up here. As always, send me feedback at [email protected].

Key Idea: The Rise of Generalists in the AI Era

In a world that prizes specialization, cross-disciplinary thinking is becoming the secret weapon.

The economy is evolving faster than our institutions can keep up. New technologies emerge daily. Job roles appear, vanish, and morph beyond recognition. What matters now isn't what you studied ten years ago. It's how quickly you can adapt, connect ideas across domains, and solve problems you've never seen before.

Generalists thrive here. Not because they know everything, but because they know how to learn anything.

The most important skill of the future isn't coding or data science or design. It’s the ability to stay curious, to bounce back from failure, to think analytically, and to navigate uncertainty with confidence. Generalists aren’t experts in one field. They’re experts in change itself.

We don’t know what the most important skill of 2035 will be. But we do know this: the half-life of skills is shrinking. What you learn today could be irrelevant in five years. The exception? Meta-skills like learning how to learn, synthesizing information, communicating clearly, and solving open-ended problems.

In this context, a narrow early-career focus can be a liability. Sure, it may offer short-term gains. But over a lifetime, it often narrows the range of opportunities you can recognize, let alone pursue. Those who explore, who pivot, who follow curiosity instead of convention will probably be the ones who end up leading the most original and impactful work.

Generalists make better sense-makers. They draw analogies from nature, pull tactics from business, blend ideas from philosophy and design. Innovation rarely comes from staying in your lane. It happens when you connect dots others don't see.

Michael Jordan played baseball before becoming the basketball icon we know today. Federer tried everything (basketball, handball, wrestling, table tennis) before tennis became his career.

These stories aren't outliers. They're reminders.

Expertise is often painted as a straight path. But it rarely is. Most of the time, it's messy, nonlinear, full of experimentation and false starts. And that's the point.

There’s a quiet power in slow learning. In the kind of learning that sticks because it was hard-earned. Psychologists call it “desirable difficulty” i.e. the idea that the more you have to struggle through something, the more deeply it embeds. Not everything should be easy. Friction builds strength.

Generalists encounter this friction all the time. New domains. New rules. New problems. And yes, that means failure. But it also means resilience. It means getting good at starting over, again and again, until you realize starting over is its own kind of mastery.

Being a beginner is underrated.

When you’re new, you ask questions that experts dismiss. You combine ideas that “shouldn’t” go together. You stumble into serendipity. Innovation doesn't usually show up when you're following the manual. It comes when you toss the manual out and figure things out yourself.

This is where generalists shine. Not in knowing more, but in seeing differently.

And now, AI is raising the stakes.

By 2030, as much as half of today’s work activities could be automated. Wages, roles, entire industries. Everything is up for redefinition. But inside this chaos is enormous potential, especially for those who know how to evolve.

Think of it as a new kind of Renaissance. The modern da Vincis aren't artists or inventors. They're AI-powered generalists. People who use technology not to replace their thinking, but to multiply it. They move fast across domains. They build software, create content, automate tasks, solve problems, connect ideas. And they do it not because they mastered one field, but because they’ve learned how to master new ones, over and over.

While traditional specialists go deep, AI generalists go wide and smart. They don't cling to a single tool. They build toolkits. They don’t chase rigid plans. They surf waves of change.

This is the real edge: the ability to adapt with intelligence, to build with speed, and to see the moment’s potential before it becomes obvious to everyone else.

You could call this the Second Renaissance. Technology has handed us the tools to create, to earn, and to live on our terms. But not everyone sees it yet.

Traditional paths like school, job, retirement feel more fragile by the day. The creator economy is rising. People are turning to real voices, not institutions, for direction. They're looking for meaning, flexibility, and independence. And they’re finding it in being a generalist.

In this Second Renaissance, being average at many things often beats being world-class at one. Because when you can blend interest like psychology and fitness, writing and software, design and storytelling; you start to stand out in ways algorithms can’t predict.

The internet and AI economy rewards the versatile. You’re no longer trapped in a niche. You can follow your curiosity, build in public, teach what you learn, and attract opportunities that never existed before.

This isn’t about becoming a jack of all trades. It’s about becoming irreplaceable by being multidimensional. And in a world where labor is easier to replace than ever, being multidimensional is survival.

If you’re not built for the assembly line, be glad. That world is ending. What comes next is wide open.

But it’s not easy. The path of the modern generalist demands conviction. It demands belief in your ability to adapt faster than the system can constrain you. It means tuning out advice that was built for a different era and trusting the signal in your own curiosity.

Being a generalist doesn't mean being scattered. It means accumulating a diverse set of tools and knowing when to use each one. It means having the humility to be a beginner again and again. It means knowing that failure isn't a verdict. It's just part of the process.

The future won’t belong to those who pick a lane and stay in it forever. It will belong to those who are willing to switch lanes, take detours, and explore new maps altogether.

So if your career doesn’t follow a straight line, that’s not a bug. That’s the feature. If you feel like you're always starting over, good. That's how you build range.

The world needs more people who can blend disciplines, question assumptions, and build what's next. It needs people who are unafraid to think differently. People who can hold multiple perspectives and still move forward. People who understand that in complexity, adaptability wins.

The age of the generalist isn't coming. It's already here.

Either go deeper than AI can reach. Or rise above it and learn how to direct it.

Don’t wait for a roadmap. Start solving problems. Stay curious. Follow the interesting threads. Build a toolkit no one else has.

That’s the future. And it’s yours to shape. Thank you for reading.

Best,
Kartik

Enjoying the read? Stay ahead with unique insights on the future of work and living. Subscribe to the Bold Efforts newsletter and receive fresh stories and ideas straight to your inbox every Thursday.

Who am I?
I’m Kartik, founder of Polynomial Studio, a holding company and product studio building AI-driven businesses for the future of work. The way we work and live is being rewritten. AI, remote work, and shifting economic forces are reshaping careers, businesses, and entire industries. The big question is where it’s all heading.

For the past eight years, I’ve been at the forefront of these shifts, working across real estate, technology, startups, and corporate strategy. I’ve helped businesses navigate change and stay ahead of what’s next, always focused on understanding the forces shaping our future and how we can use them to build something better. Click here to know more about me.

Why Bold Efforts?
I started Bold Efforts because I believe work should fit into life, not the other way around. Too many people are stuck in outdated systems that don’t serve them. This newsletter is about challenging the status quo and making the effort to design work around life. It brings together bold ideas and actionable insights to help you build a healthier, more balanced relationship with work, leading to greater purpose and fulfillment. If you’re looking for fresh perspectives on how to work and live better, you’re in the right place.

Was this email/link forwarded to you? Subscribe here