This could very well be one of the last posts I write as a human being. If you’ve seen OpenAI’s operator model, you’ll understand why. It’s nothing short of revolutionary — even though in recent weeks and months, there were enough signs foretelling — that we would soon arrive at this point.

And what is this point?

With AI evolving to the stage where OpenAI’s Operator model is available for mass adoption, we are at another of many inflection points in AI:

The cost of labor is no longer what it once was.

While it’s not entirely free — $200 a month is still something — it’s pretty much approaching zero.

Yet, this is an oversimplification.

Let me break it down.

Cost = What we will pay in future.

There is a cost to access this labor: $200 a month. That’s straightforward. You just have to pay.

But what about the price of this labor?

Price = What we’ve already paid to access it.

The price to access it and create value from it is not the $200 monthly subscription fee. Anyone with $200 can gain access to this powerful AI operator. But only those who have already “paid the price” will be able to generate meaningful value from this so-called free labor.

What is this price? This price is not something we pay in the future. It is a price we have paid in the past: the time, effort, and expertise we’ve invested in ourselves — the domain knowledge we’ve accumulated, the skills we’ve honed, and the industries we’ve spent years understanding. This past investment will determine who stands to benefit most in this new era.

So, what happens next?

We are all anticipating a flood of people, perhaps nearly everyone, jumping in to use AI and models like OpenAI’s Operator. The allure of activating labor and accessing knowledge — at a fraction of the historical cost of labor will be irresistible. And as OpenAI and its competitors continue to democratize AI further, this cost will likely drop even more.

However, while everyone (in the developed world) will have access to this technology, only those who’ve cultivated the right skills, domain expertise, and mindsets will unlock its true value.

In simple terms, anyone can pay for nearly free labor, but not everyone will know how to create value with it.

If knowledge and labor are approaching zero costs, what will make the difference?

3 ‘C’s

In a world where knowledge and labor are nearly free, three critical factors will determine success:

1. Creativity – The ability to see possibilities others miss, to innovate where others replicate.
2. Courage – The willingness to take risks. Building a company, organization, or product requires more than hard work—it demands sacrifice and boldness.
3. Capital – Even with labor costs approaching zero, scaling, testing, and iterating on new ideas still require resources. The democratization of labor levels the playing field, but without capital to fuel ideas, even the most creative thinkers may find themselves outdone by competitors with less creativity but significantly more capital.

TL;DR: We’ve reached an incredible milestone: labor and knowledge have arrived at near-zero costs and will continue to trend that way. The winners in this new era will be those who are Creative, Courageous, and able to deploy Capital effectively.

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