AI adaptability expert: The future of freelance work is not what you think
In an interview with Eryn Peters, startup adviser and co-founder of The AI Maturity Index, The Freelance Informer learns that everything about the future of work will be turned on its head. And it’s looking like good news for freelancers
Forget what you thought you knew about the future of work. The old rules are being rewritten. Those best prepared to thrive in this new era are not who you might expect. The good news is freelancers, with their inherent adaptability, AI skills, and ability to collaborate across various teams, are uniquely equipped to seize the emerging opportunities that many traditional employees are not.
The rise of the polymath freelancer
Businesses have traditionally favoured highly specialised individuals. However, in the modern era, recruitment will increasingly demand a broader skill set, according to Eryn Peters. “We’re entering the era of the polymath,” she says.
She continues, “Skills that will be the most valuable will be critical thinking and problem-solving. Companies need strategically minded people.” For example, she says even if you’re not the one building code, “you will have to think strategically about what that code is actually trying to solve.”
Freelancers, who routinely handle diverse responsibilities, are already a step ahead. A freelance web developer, for example, might manage client relationships and provide SEO advice in addition to coding and design.
This multifaceted experience is becoming increasingly valuable. Indeed, Peters points out, “[In the near future] we’ll be looking for mid- to senior-level people that know a little bit about a lot of things, rather than someone [who] knows a lot about fewer things.” She likens this to people becoming “Jacks of all trades.”
Accelerating AI acumen: The freelancer’s fast track
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping the way early adopters to the technology work. AI is also becoming integrated into recruitment systems, company websites and will be as common as having MS Word on every workplace laptop. Understanding and using AI tools is becoming essential for all professionals. Freelancers, however, possess a notable advantage, says Peters. That’s because freelancers are driven to enhance their efficiency and offer cutting-edge solutions to clients. They tend to adopt new technologies early on.
Peters, “Consider that 66% of leaders no longer hire someone who doesn’t have AI skills, period. But 77% of leaders are willing to hire someone with less experience if they have AI skills.”
Unencumbered by corporate bureaucracy, freelancers can quickly acquire AI skills on their own dime and time. They can experiment with various tools and with practice, seamlessly integrate them into their service offerings.
AI when used ethically should not be feared. She suggests, “You just reduce fear by experimenting. That’s the big thing… see it as an opportunity.”
Tools are emerging to help individuals assess and improve their AI capabilities. For instance, Peters’ AI Maturity Index, as she explains, “I like an assessment more than anything…we leverage a conversational AI agent…anyone can talk to our agent for 15 minutes, and then they get a full report on their AI maturity benchmarks against their peers.”
This underscores the importance of understanding one’s AI proficiency in a competitive market. Peters clarifies that the tool is not a skill aptitude test. “We will let someone know how they are using AI compared to their peers and whether for example, they need to use it more for either augmentation or automation.”
She emphasises that “a lot of the AI literacy skills have very little to do with the technology…the most valuable skills for people to adopt when using AI tools are critical thinking, problem-solving and strategy.”
The freelancer as an integrator: bridging departmental divides
Traditional companies often struggle with departmental silos, which can hinder communication and create a fragmented understanding of client needs. This can appear to outsiders as a disconnected approach where no one is working towards a singular goal, but rather just their own. Freelancers, on the other hand, routinely collaborate across various departments. A freelance marketing consultant, for example, might work concurrently with sales, product development, and finance teams.
This cross-functional approach provides freelancers with a unique, holistic perspective. They develop a keen understanding of how well different parts of a business interconnect and can therefore deliver solutions that benefit the organisation as a whole. As Peters points out, “Freelancing and skill-based organisations go hand in hand. The combination forces people to think about the skills that are required to complete a scope of work and deliver value, either discretely or on an ongoing basis, and allows for freedom of mobility.”
This ability to collaborate and understand diverse business functions represents a significant advantage for freelancers. For example, she says, “If you’re a freelance graphic designer, you can work with the marketing team right now. You can then work with the products team to make certain things. You can work with whoever else needs it, right? Sales or whoever.”
Forget roles. The future is all about skills
The traditional model of rigidly defined roles is becoming obsolete, says Peters. The future of work increasingly favours a skills-based approach, where specific abilities and expertise take precedence.
Freelancers are already operating within this paradigm. Their success hinges on their ability to articulate their skills and deliver tangible results. This focus on skills aligns perfectly with a future where companies prioritise specific capabilities over formal job titles. She puts this into perspective when comparing skill-based organisations versus those who rely on “roles”: “When was the last time that you read a job description, got that job and that job description was accurate? The roles-based system is broken.”
This shift to skills-based hiring also means a shift away from time-based compensation. With AI enhancing productivity, remunerating individuals solely for hours worked is becoming increasingly illogical.
Freelancers, who are accustomed to being paid on a project or value basis, are well-positioned for this transition. This transformation also requires a rethinking of compensation models.
As Peters points out,
If I’m paying you hourly and you can do things 10 times faster with AI, are you going to get punished by getting paid less? That doesn’t make sense.
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The impact of AI and the dead internet theory
The rise of AI is not only transforming work itself, but also the nature of online information and interaction. “People aren’t using search engines like they did in the past. Look at your social media feed. How many of those are AI posts and being interactive with other bots?”
This evolution has significant implications for how freelancers conduct business and how they are perceived. Peters indicates we are heading towards the “dead internet theory,” whereby “bots are speaking with bots and many of us are thinking, can’t we go back to the old school ways because we can’t trust it anymore?”
She suggests that continuous learning and skill acquisition can help us make more reliable decisions. She also says lifelong learning is paramount to keep us ahead of the competition and to be attractive to clients who may also be on the AI learning curve.
However, she warns that some skills are becoming obsolete at an unprecedented rate. “The half-life of skills is shorter than ever has been before, and by the time you’re learning how to do something in a course or especially at a formal institution, it’s out of date.” This underscores the importance for freelancers to proactively acquire new knowledge and abilities. “65% of children entering elementary school today are going to work for jobs that do not exist yet,” says Peters.
Adapting to new realities
These changes call for a re-evaluation of traditional approaches to careers and education. Peters expresses scepticism about the value of a traditional business degree, arguing, “I just don’t think that they’re valuable anymore,” and suggests, “You might as well apply for a loan or raise money to start a business, and even if you fail, you’re going to learn more and make more connections than if you went to business school.”
This perspective reflects a growing recognition that practical experience and adaptability are often more valuable today than formal qualifications. Yet not everyone will be convinced of this.
Peters’ thinking aligns with the emergence of highly successful independent professionals: “We are entering an age where a lot of people can be a one-person consultancy worth a billion dollars. Like the billion-dollar solopreneurs. This age is potentially among us.”
The Freelancer’s advantage in a new era of work
Freelancers, with their inherent adaptability and focus on skills, are well-positioned to thrive in this era of great change. She describes herself as a “portfolio careerist… the way that I interact with the future of work is all alongside it.”
Peters is no longer hung up on titles, stating, “I just want to help people and drive up my key metric. All of my work to date has impacted four and a half million workers in 190 countries.”
That has been through her work with freelancer platforms and the clients she has advised.
Experimentation and openness
Ultimately, success in the future of work will hinge on a combination of technical and interpersonal skills and the democratisation of AI models.
She says, “AI skills… they vary… we have to think holistically. Like T-shaped skills and organisations… it comes back [to when] I was in school. They told me that you might have a calculator in your pocket everywhere you go, and now I do [she holds up her mobile phone for emphasis], and you need to get comfortable [with] using these new tools.”
If freelancers want to leverage AI in their practice with their customers, they can use the tool, not just for their journey, but for their customers.
Peters explains:
Because a lot of the time, independents or those who are doing small teaming agencies, they don’t have access to tools like this or the data set that we do. Seeing other people use the tool helps us grow the data set. So that is good for everybody, right?
Because the more we have the data, the better the benchmarks, the more value, the more they want to do it. It’s much like a crowdsourced data model. So, if that’s something that they’re interested in, they can always come to our website and not just try it for themselves, but look at leveraging, like, the team and organisation reports within their own working practice to, like, level up their offering.
Opportunity knocks
The future of work presents both challenges and considerable opportunities for freelancers. Their ability to adapt quickly, their proficiency in AI, and their experience in cross-functional collaboration are highly desirable attributes. As Peters optimistically notes, “World Economic Forum shows that more jobs will be created from AI than taken.”
To thrive, freelancers should commit to continuous learning and cultivate a broad skillset. Employers, in turn, should recognise the significant value that freelancers bring – their agility, diverse expertise, and ability to bridge internal divides.
She is confident that freelancers are well-positioned to thrive in the changing world of work. If her predictions are spot-on, the age of the polymath is upon us, and freelancers are already leading the way.
If you are interested in learning about you AI readiness and how your knowledge stacks up to your peers, consider taking The AI Maturity Index assessment for individuals.
