Should We Outsource The Future?

In the U.S., we've fallen into the habit of designing at home but shipping production abroad. It started with clothing and toys but then expanded to more complex products—tech, pharmaceuticals, and cars are all made this way. Manufacturing, once a symbol of American ingenuity, has become its most efficient self. And in the process, we offloaded craft.

For example, Detroit was once the beating heart of global car production. But when automakers began moving operations abroad, a steady erosion of the industry’s capacity to innovate followed. Japan perfected the process with lean manufacturing, and soon, the U.S. auto industry was playing catch-up to companies like Toyota and Honda. Similarly, semiconductors were once proudly made in Silicon Valley, but now, 90% of the world’s chips come from Asia, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. 

This story played out repeatedly. And now it’s playing out again. AI tools are becoming increasingly competent—they can write code, act as our therapists, do our taxes, and be teachers. But if we rely too much on AI to build our software for us, we could lose our ability to craft the technology that defines this era. It’s one thing for AI to optimize a supply chain; it’s another thing entirely for it to design the next generation of cloud architecture or become a political leader. The nuance and creativity required for those leaps demand human intuition. What happens when we start outsourcing judgment?

AI is a tool, but if we over-rely on it, we risk hollowing out the foundation of our capabilities to invent. The future shouldn’t belong to those who know how to run an AI system; it should belong to those who know how to design the next great breakthrough. It’s a skill we can’t afford to lose.

The key to long-term innovation is not in outsourcing our expertise, but in preserving it. If you’re building tools that empower the next generation of creators—engineers, designers, marketers, artists—to uphold and evolve their craft, we’d love to hear from you. Let’s collaborate to ensure the future of innovation stays in the hands of those who shape it.