The Death of Expertise?

It’s said that on the internet you can find the instructions to make a nuclear bomb. There’s probably a Youtube video out there somewhere showing you how to perform brain surgery. With the appropriate disclaimers, of course. With Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT will do all the research for you and serve up the manual.

While most of us limit our search for instructions to making banana bread or replacing the starter on a riding mower, the internet has made experts of us all. I’m forever grateful that I watched the online safety video after I bought my first big chainsaw!

So, now that we can all be experts on anything and everything, why do we need professionals? Who needs teachers when you can learn all you need to know online? I can research the finer points of law, get the recipe for waterproof concrete, or watch a video on how to deliver a calf. Why would I need a lawyer, an engineer, or a veterinarian? Teachers must surely be redundant!

Oddly enough, we never question the value of certain professionals. In fact, we’re willing to pay them outrageous sums of money to do what they do. Basketball players, rock stars, and talk show hosts are gods in our universe, and no amount of money or adulation is enough or unreasonable. Why? Well, for two reasons.

First, they are uniquely able to do something that nobody else can do. Second, we value their output as something we need or want so much that we are prepared to lay out our credit cards. In the vernacular of the Alignment Doctrine, they possess unique Giftings which speak precisely to our unique Needs.

Now, if truth be told, this exact principle applies equally to the credentialed professions. You can spend as much time as you want watching Youtube channels, but when your pain is out of control, you want a real doctor with real training and (more than anything else) who has the inherent Giftings to diagnose and treat the source of the pain.

I don’t care how long you’ve spent on the internet, but unless you can put an engineering stamp on the plans, I’m not going to drive across any bridge you may build over the canyon. Even Donald Trump, who is happy to put know-nothings in his cabinet, hires the most expensive lawyers when he is hauled into court.

Prospective clients used to say to me, “Why should I pay you thousands of dollars to do my estate planning, when I can go online and prepare my own will for free?” My answer was always, “Please, be my guest. I love home-made wills! Some of the best money I’ve ever made has been generated by home-made wills, after you die!” The answer, invariably, was, “
oh.” Then they’d write my retainer cheque.

True experts will never be out of work or out of style. The trick is to know your expertise and address yourself directly to those who need it, and know they need it.

Ball players, move over!