Software should give working people leverage, not replace them
The collision tech, the shop owner, the firefighter — they don't need to be automated away. They need tools that make their judgment worth more.
There’s a lazy version of “AI for the trades” that treats the person doing the work as a cost to be removed. I think that’s both wrong and bad business.
The collision technician on the floor knows things a model doesn’t. The shop owner feels the cash-flow pressure in real time. The firefighter reads a scene in seconds. The goal isn’t to replace that judgment — it’s to make it worth more.
What leverage actually looks like
Good tools do a few unglamorous things really well:
- They capture the work that’s already happening, accurately.
- They turn that work into documentation that gets paid.
- They hand the human better information, faster.
That’s it. No magic. Just respect for the person holding the wrench.
Why I keep coming back to this
Every venture I start ends up here. Build for the operator, not around them. It’s the most honest competitive advantage I know — because the incumbents are usually building the opposite.
This is a placeholder essay with a real point of view. Swap in your own examples and ship it.