In a recent tweet, investor Garry Tan made a bold statement about the future of work: traditional credentials like your school or resume are no longer the key to success. Instead, he emphasized two skills that are becoming essential in the age of AI: agency (prompting) and taste (design, quality control, and preference). But what exactly does this mean, and why does it matter? Let’s break it down.
What Is Agency (Prompting)?
Agency, as Garry Tan describes it, refers to your ability to take initiative and make things happen—specifically through prompting in the context of AI. Prompting is the skill of crafting clear, strategic instructions or queries to guide AI systems to produce useful outputs. Think of it as steering a powerful tool with your words.
For example, a restaurant owner might use AI to create an advanced pricing tool by prompting the AI with questions like, “Analyze my customer data and suggest a pricing strategy that maximizes profit while keeping customers happy.” This doesn’t require years of coding or data science expertise anymore—just the ability to ask the right questions. As Yi Zhou notes on Medium, prompt engineering is evolving into a universal skill for the next-generation workforce, enabling anyone to harness AI’s potential.
This shift is part of what Pirate Wires calls the “unraveling of credentialism.” As Gian Segato writes in a recent Pirate Wires piece, people from all walks of life—product managers, designers, barbers, and restaurant owners—are now building tools and systems that once required specialized skills, simply because AI has lowered the barrier to entry.
What Is Taste (Design/QC/Preference)?
The second skill Garry Tan highlights is taste, which encompasses design, quality control (QC), and preference. Taste is about having a discerning eye for what’s good, what works, and what resonates with people. In the context of AI, taste often comes into play during evaluations—the process of judging AI outputs to ensure they meet a certain standard.
For instance, in the food industry, AI can analyze molecular structures and consumer preferences to design new flavors, as discussed in a Consumer Goods Technology article. However, it’s human taste that decides if the AI-generated flavor is appealing or if the texture feels right. Similarly, a designer might use AI to generate a UI mockup, but their taste determines whether the design is intuitive and visually appealing.
Taste also applies to quality control. AI can automate inspections—like using image recognition to check food products for defects—but humans with good taste set the benchmarks for what “quality” means. It’s about knowing what should be built, not just what can be built, as one commenter on Garry’s tweet pointed out.
Why Do These Skills Matter Now?
The rise of AI is democratizing access to powerful tools, as highlighted in a TechTarget article. You don’t need to be a programmer to build software or analyze data anymore—low-code and no-code platforms, combined with AI, make it possible for anyone to create. But this democratization also shifts the skills that matter most.
In the past, success often depended on formal credentials: a degree from a prestigious school or a polished resume. Now, as Garry Tan argues, the playing field is leveling. The ability to act (agency) and judge (taste) is what sets you apart. A developer who never designed UIs can now create compelling experiences with AI tools, as one reply to Garry’s tweet noted. Similarly, a UI artist might learn just enough coding to test their designs in a sandbox, as shared in another comment.
This quote captures the essence of the shift: AI amplifies human potential, but only for those who know how to wield it effectively. Agency lets you drive the AI, and taste ensures the destination is worth reaching.
What Does This Mean for the Future?
The implications of this shift are profound. For individuals, it means focusing on developing agency and taste rather than chasing traditional credentials. As one commenter suggested, we might need a new education system built around agency—teaching people how to take initiative and navigate AI tools effectively.
For businesses, it means rethinking hiring and training. Instead of filtering candidates by degrees, companies should look for people who demonstrate agency and taste—those who can prompt AI to solve problems and evaluate the results with a critical eye. This also aligns with the critique of credentialism in a Vector Impact article, which argues that degree requirements often exclude talented people and don’t guarantee job-relevant skills.
Ultimately, Garry Tan’s tweet is a call to action: embrace agency and taste as the new credentials of the AI era. Whether you’re a startup founder, a designer, or a small business owner, these skills will define your ability to thrive in a world where AI is eating the world—one prompt at a time.