I started my career as a photojournalist. Technology has since transformed that industry. As I think through how to survive in an AI-driven world—hopefully, thrive—I’ve found myself reflecting on what happened to photojournalism.

The good news? There is a several-year window where being proactive in terms of leveraging AI can (at least for the foreseeable future) can keep us from getting steamrolled. It may even unlock a more powerful, more profitable, and more flexible business model.

For founders, especially those building AI-based businesses, your immediate calculus is different. But for the rest of us, this isn’t just a tactical shift. It’s existential.

Overall, the trend appears to be this: we need to all think broader and deeper. Since we are being “liberated” from the mechanics of doing our jobs (‘I’m a lawyer so I research and write’), we need to rethink how value is created, and where we still have an edge.

We now have Artificial Intelligence. We don’t (yet!) have Artificial Wisdom. It’s the difference between an 80% draft and a 100% home run.

So the key is to reposition my services into that 20%. Because if I’m still trying to charge for what AI can do in 30 seconds, my days are numbered.

Back when I was a photojournalist, I earned $300-$500 a day to “take pictures.” But the actual value creation extended far beyond the images:

• Getting to the (potentially remote) news location reliably and on-time

• Taking great pictures

• Getting the film back to HQ quickly

• Giving one editor de facto exclusive on your work because you sent them your film

Technology dismantled that layer cake. Only “great pictures” is the only substantially non-zero value remaining—and even that is fading in a world overflowing with visual content. To survive, photojournalists have had to become multimedia creators, video storytellers, and even their own publishers.

My work today as a communications consultant also derives from layers of value. The key is to be clear about which layers are going away, which remain, and which can potentially be changed or added.

Most obviously, basic writing is in the AI crosshairs. I never pushed “content” writing because of the existence of Fiverr and Upwork, but AI can now crank out serviceable writing for almost anything.

So what remains?

• The human-AI interface. You can’t just say “write me a great website or pitch deck” and have a computer make one. There are too many open questions, strategic decisions, competitive information, cultural insight, and understanding of human nature that go into creating high-value and effective material. Will I use AI to synthesize the information I deemed important to gather? Of course. But even once AI has returned a draft, I still need to decide what’s good and what misses the mark.

• Humans prefer dealing with humans. We still press “0” to talk to a person. Founding teams are full of strong opinions and fuzzy signals. Helping them align requires empathy, nuance, and finesse, all which happens most effectively in meetings.

• Non-scrapable data. For all the oceans of data that are AI-accessible on the internet, the highest-value stuff is still between our ears. The industry experience you’ve gathered, the conversations you’ve had, the human relationships you’ve built, and the impressions you’ve formed—all of that has shaped your own private LLM and enables perspective, instinct, and lateral thinking—i.e., wisdom.

• The bottom line. Ultimately, the true value creation of all PR, communications, and narrative development is in the outcome: investment, partnerships, sales. Keeping track of those KPIs and thinking how to most strategically apply my time in the service of those goals remains a strategic advantage.

As AI reshapes my work focus, it also enables me to offer value in other ways:

• Deeper and more timely media monitoring. What used to require agency-level resources I can begin to offer solo—keeping tabs on what’s being published and what narratives are gaining traction.

• Faster content production. As long as you maintain sharp oversight, it’s easier than ever to create more on-brand, meaningful content for social media, newsletters, and more.

• More efficient outreach. Reaching out to journalists and other industry contacts with relevant information is valuable—again, as long as there’s “wisdom” guiding it.

When I look at that list I realize that I can effectively become an agency at a solo-operator price.

Which is not that different from journalists—many have become essentially their own editors or even publishers.

But if I don’t adapt—if I keep pitching the same service offering with the same framing—I will get flattened in the next couple years. But the real opportunity for all early movers is that, with some strategic insight and planning, I think there’s huge opportunity to grow an even more powerful, valuable, and dare I say fun business.

At least, that’s what I tell myself!

I’d love to hear how you’re adapting in this changing world. What can only you do? What would you outsource to AI? What will your value look like in 3 years?