The conversation about AI and work usually goes one direction: how will companies use AI to replace workers? But there's another question worth asking. What if workers could use AI to replace their need for an employer?

This isn't about quitting your job tomorrow. It's a reframe - a different way of thinking about what's actually being disrupted and who gets to benefit from it.

Why Does the Labor Market Feel So Uncertain Right Now?

The labor market feels uncertain because the old equation is breaking down. Companies are under pressure to do more with less, headcount is flat or shrinking, and AI is accelerating the change. Workers feel stuck competing for fewer slots.

You've probably felt this. The job market is sluggish. Companies aren't hiring like they used to. And there's a constant background hum of anxiety about what AI will do to the jobs that remain.

The default response is: learn AI skills so you stay valuable to employers. Get better so you don't get replaced.

That's not wrong. But it's incomplete. It accepts that you're the object of disruption - something being acted upon - rather than the subject of it.

What Would It Mean to "Replace Your Employer"?

Replacing your employer means using AI to create value without needing a company's permission or infrastructure. This could look like solo consulting, building products, offering services, or creating new kinds of businesses that weren't viable before.

For most of human history, someone else gave us our challenges. An employer structured our day. A boss pointed us toward what was valuable. We showed up, did the work, got paid.

The employer provided: - Direction (what to work on) - Infrastructure (tools, systems, distribution) - Coordination (organizing people toward a goal) - Risk absorption (steady paycheck regardless of individual project outcomes)

AI changes the equation on several of these. The tools are becoming powerful enough that an individual or small group can: - Build software without a development team - Create content without a marketing department - Automate processes without an operations staff - Reach customers without a sales force

The bottleneck is shifting. It's less about access to capability and more about knowing what to build.

What's the Real Skill Here?

The real skill isn't just "learning AI." It's learning to give yourself challenges. For most of history, external structures - employers, institutions, markets - told us what was valuable. Now you have to figure that out yourself.

This is a different kind of problem than learning a tool. It's more existential. If you can give yourself a meaningful challenge, these tools can help you make progress on it. But defining the challenge is on you.

That's uncomfortable. Most of us haven't had to do this. We went to school (challenges provided), got jobs (challenges provided), climbed ladders (challenges provided). Directing yourself is a muscle most people haven't developed.

But it's learnable. And it might be the most important skill in this transition.

What Could This Actually Look Like?

Practically, this could look like: solo consulting practices leveraging AI for delivery, small product businesses with minimal overhead, services that weren't viable before AI reduced the labor cost, and small groups creating value together without formal company structures.

Some possibilities:

Solo consulting with leverage. One person doing work that used to require a team. An AI-augmented consultant can research, analyze, create deliverables, and manage projects with minimal overhead.

Micro-products. Small software tools, digital products, or services that serve niche needs. Things that wouldn't justify a company but can sustain a person or small group.

New service models. Services that weren't economically viable when they required more human labor. AI changes the cost structure, which changes what's possible.

Collective value creation. Small groups supporting each other in building things - not competing for the same corporate slots, but creating something different together.

I don't have this figured out. Nobody does yet. But the direction is interesting.

Is This Realistic or Just Wishful Thinking?

It's realistic as a direction, not as a tomorrow-morning plan. We're early in this transition. The tools are getting better fast, but most people are still learning how to use them effectively. The point is to start thinking differently now.

Let's be honest: most people can't quit their jobs tomorrow and start solo businesses. Bills are real. Health insurance is real. The safety of a paycheck is real.

But thinking only in terms of "how do I stay valuable to employers" is limiting. It keeps you in a defensive crouch, competing for shrinking slots.

The reframe is: what would it look like to need an employer less? Even if you keep your job, that changes your relationship to it. You're there by choice, not desperation.

And for people who are between jobs - feeling stuck in a slow market - this might be more practical than sending hundreds of applications into the void.

What About Community?

Community matters because creating value independently doesn't mean creating it alone. Supporting each other through the transition - sharing what works, collaborating on projects, navigating uncertainty together - is part of what makes this viable.

One of the loneliest things about the current moment is feeling like you're competing against everyone else for scarce opportunities.

The reframe suggests something different. Instead of competing for the same slots, what if we supported each other in creating new ones?

That's part of what we're exploring at MVP Club. Not just learning skills to compete against each other. Figuring out how to create value together. Sharing what works. Building things as a community.

This isn't utopian. It's practical. The transition is hard. Going through it with other people makes it easier.

How Do You Start Thinking This Way?

Start by asking yourself: what would I build or create if I didn't need anyone's permission? What challenge would I give myself? Even if you don't act on it immediately, the question shifts your orientation from passive to active.

You don't have to quit your job. You don't have to start a business tomorrow.

But you can start noticing: - What problems do you see that you could solve? - What would you build if you had the capability? - What challenge would you give yourself if you knew you could make progress on it?

These tools are getting better fast. The gap between "I wish someone would build this" and "I could build this" is closing.

The question is whether you'll be ready to step into that gap.