10x is the new floor
AI hasn't created a new class of 10x engineers—it's raised the floor so anyone paired with AI can now perform at what used to be mythical levels, splitting the talent curve in half and making the comfortable middle obsolete.
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job is to be a conductor. Hold all the context, the feeling, the texture in their head while using a fleet of agents to handle the execution. It’s like playing chess while making sure a dozen trains don’t run into each other, even though each train has its own conductor. You just need to hear when something’s off.
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TLDR
• Block just cut 40% of staff (4,000 people) because smaller teams with AI tools outperform larger traditional teams—stock jumped 24%
• The talent bell curve is splitting: those who've embraced AI as "amplification intelligence" vs. those still operating in the old paradigm
• Your new job is being a "conductor"—holding context and vision while orchestrating AI agents for execution, not doing the work yourself
• The comfortable middle that corporate America valued for 50 years (reliable, competent, hits deadlines) is now matched or exceeded by AI tools
• Two realities coexist at the same dinner: Fortune 500 execs who haven't opened Cursor vs. solo engineers shipping what took teams of 5 last year
In Detail
The author observes a stark divide: founders maxing out token limits before lunch and solo engineers shipping what took teams of five, while Fortune 500 execs still view LLMs as toys and VPs of Engineering haven't touched Cursor. These aren't separate worlds—they're sitting at the same dinner table. Block's recent 40% layoff (4,000 people) crystallizes the shift: Jack Dorsey explicitly stated that smaller teams with AI tools do more and do it better. The stock jumped 24%.
The core insight is that AI hasn't created exceptional performers—it's raised the floor to meet them. The mythical "10x engineer" didn't get better; everyone else just got access to tools that bring them to that level. The old talent bell curve is splitting in half. People who've truly embraced AI have figured out their job is to be a conductor: hold all the context, feeling, and texture in your head while using a fleet of agents to handle execution. The other side still meets OKRs through reliable competence—the profile that corporate America valued for half a century at $300K and a comfortable trajectory.
That comfortable middle is now being matched or exceeded by the tools. AI should be renamed "amplification intelligence"—it reveals and amplifies who already had agency and curiosity. The variance always existed, but now it's impossible to hide. The two realities are colliding fast, and when they do, only one version of "good enough" survives. If you're not actively using AI to amplify your output, you're not falling behind—you're becoming obsolete.