#33 - The Collapse of Prestige: Why Knowing More Is No Longer Enough

From law to medicine to consulting, AI is unbundling expertise—and exposing what separates knowledge from wisdom in the age of disruption.

I am in Toronto speaking with a group of leaders about the future of education and impact of that on the workforce. After a day of dialog, it got me thinking.

We were promised the prestige path: get the degree, do the grind, earn the title—and you'd be safe. But what if the ladder we were told to climb is the very thing being dismantled as we speak, intentionally or unintentionally? Let’s talk about the quiet collapse that’s reshaping work as we know it; NOW.

We’ve been sold a version of the future of work that felt comfortably distant. But that future? It’s not waiting. It’s already happening.

The future of work is the now of work.
And the sooner we name it, the faster we can lead it.

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AI Isn’t Coming for Jobs. It’s Rewriting How We Work.

For decades, prestige acted like armor. Doctors, lawyers, consultants, MBAs—safe inside the gates; and yes, I have felt “safe”.

But today, AI isn’t attacking the gates. It’s slipping underneath them—quietly automating the work that once justified the title.

• That memo that took a junior associate three days? AI drafts it in thirty seconds.

• That initial diagnosis at the doctor? It now rides along with an algorithm trained on millions of outcomes.

• The deck your team pulled an all-nighter to finish? There’s an AI doing it faster—and already editing.

This isn’t about layoffs. It’s erosion. Erosion of effort, repetition, and the billable hours they used to buy.

Prestige wasn’t a moat. It was a signal—a signal that the role was structured, repeatable, auditable and documented (RAD) and next in line for unbundling.

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“But We Still Have Judgment…”

We do. And we always will. But let’s be honest—judgment alone is no longer a shield.

Think about a nurse who knows when something's wrong with a patient before the monitor does. Or a coach who pulls a player at just the right moment—not because of the stats, but because they know the heartbeat of the team. That’s judgment. And it still matters.

AI can synthesize data. But it can’t sense tension in a room, or weigh risk with empathy. At least, not yet.

AI doesn’t need to replace your job to shake your foundation. It only needs to do the parts you used to be valued for—quick research, first drafts, building decks, spotting trends. That’s what opened doors. And that’s what’s now getting automated.

If the majority of your value is built on structure, speed, or repetition—AI is already coming for it. But if your value lives in nuance, in timing, in care—that's a different story.

This isn’t fear. It’s foresight. And foresight and “being real” is the first step to transformation.

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What’s Actually Collapsing?

It’s not just jobs on the line—it’s the entire operating system (OS) that powered prestige for decades. From education to identity, here’s what’s cracking beneath the surface.

Not work itself. Not intelligence. But the scaffolding we built around them.

Higher Ed

Degrees used to mean access. Now they mean a network, but often mean debt—and competition with someone who mastered prompting, not pedagogy.

This isn’t the end of education. It’s the end of education as gatekeeper.

6.6% of recent U.S. college grads are unemployed. 41% are underemployed. This isn’t a blip—it’s a systemic reset.

Credentials

What you’ve done matters. But what you can do now matters more.

When outcomes speak louder than past experience, resumes get redefined or eliminated.

Career Ladders

The ladder isn’t broken. The first rungs are gone.

60% of jobs have at least a third of tasks AI can do. Entry-level roles—the proving grounds—are disappearing.

Identity

When what we do defines who we are, and what we do starts to shift—what happens to who we think we are?

The machine may handle the task. But only we wrestle with the meaning.

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So What Do We Do (In My Opinion)?

We stop defending the familiar. We start designing the functional.

What matters now:

• Proof of work > professional history

• AI fluency > legacy process mastery

• Judgment + agility > title and tenure

• Co-creation > control and command

We don’t need better ladders. We need better scaffolding.

Think of it like this: AI is the spreadsheet. You’re the strategist. The calculator didn’t end accounting. It changed what accountants focus on. This is our calculator moment—but across every industry. Don’t just work faster—work smarter, deeper, more human.

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Five Lenses for Navigating the Now of Work

If You’re a CXO: Redesign, Don’t Just Deploy

• Shift from cost-based thinking to capability-based strategy

• Treat AI as a co-pilot, not a pilot project

• Lead with transparency and real talk

• Redesign trust, not just tech stacks

If You’re an HR Leader: Move from Programs to Readiness

• Build adaptive, always-on learning ecosystems

• Map capabilities, not just job codes

• Redefine performance for a world of augmented work

• Culture isn’t what you say. It’s what you signal—daily.

If You’re a Parent: Coach for Adaptability, Not Prestige

• Ask: What problems do you want to solve—not what do you want to “be”

• Model curiosity, flexibility, lifelong reinvention

• Teach your kids to team up with tech, not compete with it

• Prestige is lagging. Potential is leading.

If You’re in Your 20s: You’re Not Behind — You’re Unbounded

• Don’t wait to be chosen. Build your own proofs.

• Think in lattices, not ladders

• Lead with questions. Learn in public.

• AI is the assist. Your edge is what it can’t predict.

If You’re Considering College (or Advising Someone Who Is):

• Ask: Will this unlock something—or just delay reality?

• Choose environments that prioritize experience, not exclusivity

• Supplement aggressively. Learn what school doesn’t teach.

• Degrees won’t guarantee signal. Your work will.

No matter where you sit, remember: AI can scale knowledge.

But only humans turn it into wisdom.

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Final Word: Wisdom Over Automation

This feels big because it is big. But history says we’ve been here before.

I once asked a CHRO how they were handling the AI transition. They said, “We’re buying tech like we’re future-ready—but we’re still leading like it’s 2015.” That gap? That’s where the work begins.

Every major leap—printing presses, engines, electricity, the internet—broke something old to build something better (in my opinion).

But better only happens when we let go of what we thought was permanent.

AI gives us knowledge. But wisdom? That’s still our job.

• The machine can summarize the book. We choose whether to live differently after reading it. As my son tells me, the summary loses the learning and the richness; something I am refining in my quest to keep learning.

• It can describe the painting. We decide whether it moved us.

• It can recommend action. We bear the weight of choosing it.

Wisdom = pattern + pain. Memory + meaning. It’s not just knowing—it’s knowing when it matters.

This isn’t the end of work.
It’s the end of work built on prestige and protection.

The future of work is the now of work.
And it still needs us.

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Let’s Make It Real

If this hit home:

• Share it with someone who’s in the middle of this shift

• Reflect on where you might still be holding onto old scaffolding

Let’s stop protecting what was. Let’s start building what’s next—together.

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About Jason Averbook

Jason Averbook is a globally recognized thought leader, advisor, and keynote speaker focused on the intersection of AI, human potential, and the future of work. He is the Senior Partner and Global Leader of Digital HR Strategy at Mercer, where he helps the world’s largest organizations reimagine how work gets done — not by implementing technology, but by transforming mindsets, skillsets, and cultures to be truly digital.

Over the last two decades, Jason has advised hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies, co-founded and led Leapgen, authored two books on the evolution of HR and workforce technology, and built a reputation as one of the most forward-thinking voices in the industry. His work challenges leaders to stop seeing digital transformation as an IT project and start embracing it as a human strategy.

Through his Substack, Now to Next, Jason shares honest, provocative, and practical insights on what’s changing in the workplace — from generative AI to skills-based orgs to emotional fluency in leadership. His mission is simple: to help people and organizations move from noise to clarity, from fear to possibility, and from now… to next.