The most profound shift happening in today’s workplace isn’t about where people work. It’s about who (or what) is doing the work. Recent comments from Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan revealed something extraordinary: for about a quarter of their current startup cohort, artificial intelligence wrote 95% of their code. Let that sink in for a moment.

What’s happening in software development mirrors what we’ve already seen playing out in executive assistance, copywriting and many other professional fields. We’re witnessing what I’ve come to call “the great hollowing out”, a fundamental restructuring of knowledge work where the middle tier of skilled professionals is being squeezed from both ends.

Companies are now routinely reaching $10 million in revenue with development teams smaller than 10 people. That’s not because software suddenly became simpler; it’s because AI tools now handle the predictable, pattern-based work that once required multiple mid-level developers.

A consistent pattern across professional fields

This pattern isn’t unique to software development. Speaking with executive assistants over the past year, I’ve heard countless stories of how AI is transforming their profession in much the same way. The reliable EA who competently manages calendars, arranges travel and handles correspondence is increasingly competing with AI systems that can perform these tasks with growing sophistication.

The same story is playing out in copywriting, where AI can now generate serviceable blog posts, marketing emails and social media content. The mid-tier copywriter who produces decent but not exceptional work faces an existential challenge as companies experiment with AI alternatives.

What’s fascinating is how consistent this pattern is across professional fields. The roles being compressed aren’t the entry-level positions or the strategic leadership ones. It’s the comfortable middle where many built their careers and professional identities.

Barbell effect

This isn’t about technology eliminating entire professions. Developers, executive assistants, and copywriters will continue to exist. But the nature of these roles is transforming dramatically, creating what I call a “barbell effect”: high value at both ends with a thinning middle.

At one end are the strategic thinkers who can architect systems, build meaningful relationships or craft powerful narratives that AI simply cannot replicate.

At the other end are the AI orchestrators who effectively deploy these tools to amplify their productivity. The vulnerable space is the middle: those who primarily execute rather than strategise or innovate.

Widening gap between entry-level workers and senior strategists

This transformation has profound implications not just for individual careers but for organisational structure and knowledge transfer. Traditional corporate hierarchies assumed a gradual progression of skills and institutional knowledge as professionals moved through the ranks.

With the middle tier shrinking, companies face a widening gap between entry-level workers primarily focused on managing AI tools and senior strategists directing broader business goals.

This disconnect threatens not only career mobility but also the organic development of enterprise knowledge that once happened through apprenticeship and mentoring.

Organisations that recognise this challenge are beginning to experiment with new structural models that maintain knowledge transfer pathways despite smaller team sizes and changing role definitions.

Some are creating deliberate rotational programmes that expose junior staff to strategic thinking earlier, while others are developing formal knowledge capture systems to preserve insights that were previously transferred through years of hands-on experience.

The start of a series of articles

In future articles, I’ll explore how this transformation is playing out across other fields, including law, accounting and medicine. I’ll look at what it means for career development and professional identity in a world where competence alone is no longer enough.

What we’re witnessing isn’t merely technological change. It’s a fundamental reconfiguration of professional value. And none of us can afford to ignore it.