Why AI Feels Threatening to Freelancers

Freelancers everywhere are feeling it. The ground beneath our feet is shifting, because AI isn't just changing how we write. It's also changing where value lives in our industry. In this episode, I break down what few people are talking about: your writing skills might still be world-class, but they're now solving the wrong problem. Much of what I discuss was inspired by the brilliant new book Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks the Knowledge Economy by Sangeet Paul Choudary. The constraint that once made your writing indispensable has moved. And if you don't move with it, you risk becoming the business equivalent of a brilliant typewriter repair shop in 1975. I dive deep into the real economic shift happening under AI's rise, revealing how to follow where value is migrating in your market before your competitors do. What You'll Learn Why AI hasn't destroyed demand for writers; it's just moved the constraint How to spot the new "value zones" in your market before others see them Why "average" AI content isn't your protection (and what is) The critical shift from creation to curation, and how to monetize your judgment How to reframe your positioning around risk, coordination, and confidence A simple 3-step method to identify where your next big opportunity lies Why your future role looks less like a writer and more like a producer or orchestrator Key Ideas and Takeaways 1. The Sommelier's Secret Your clients aren't drowning in a lack of content. They're drowning in options. AI made creation cheap, but it didn't make discernment easy. The most valuable freelancers now sell confidence and clarity, not just words. 2. Follow the Constraint The value constraint has shifted: From scarcity to risk (ensuring AI content doesn't harm the brand) From production to coordination (helping teams align their AI use) From creation to curation and orchestration (judgment, taste, and integration) 3. Be the Fugu Chef Like a sushi master trusted with a poisonous fish, your job is now about managing risk and trust. Clients will pay more for your judgment than your keyboard. 4. The Rick Rubin Lesson Think this is all outside your wheelhouse? I urge you to reconsider. You have more skill, wisdom, and capability than you think. Music producer Rick Rubin can't play a single musical instrument or read music. But he produces masterpieces. Your value is no longer in typing faster or crafting prettier sentences. It's in creating the conditions for the right ideas and messages to emerge. 5. Rebundling Your Business The future isn't about resisting AI. Instead, it's about rebundling your value around new constraints: From "I write blog posts" to "I ensure your content strategy doesn't become an AI dumpster fire." From "I write email campaigns" to "I orchestrate customer journeys across your entire AI-powered stack." From "I create copy" to "I protect your reputation while scaling your message." 6. Your 30-Day Constraint Hunt Start finding your next opportunity: List what clients pay you for today. Ask what happens when AI makes each thing 10x faster and cheaper. Find the break points, the new problems that emerge when your old services get automated. That's where your next business model lives. Action Steps Run a "Constraint Audit": Pick one client and map where things break when AI enters the picture. Test a Micro-Offer: Solve one small constraint (e.g., "brand safety audit for AI content"). Rework Your Positioning: Stop describing what you do. Start describing what you protect or enable. Experiment with New Framing: "I manage [CONSTRAINT] so you can [OUTCOME] without [RISK]." Memorable Soundbites "Your writing skills are now solving the wrong problem." "The constraint that used to keep your skills in demand is moving rapidly." "AI has removed that obstacle, that constraint." "This is the dumbest and most incapable these tools will ever be." "The constraint is rapidly moving from 'create content' to 'ensure content doesn't erode or destroy our reputation.'" "We're becoming the fugu chefs of content." "The break points, that's where you might just find your next business model." "You're not selling writing. You're selling judgment, coordination, and confidence in a world where writing is free but trust is expensive." "Stop asking 'What can't AI do yet?' Start asking 'What does AI break?' Because in that break, in that new constraint, that's where your next level lives."