To understand why Amazon is firing 14,000 people before AI is fully ready to replace them, you have to look at the Elon Musk playbook. Specifically, the D.O.G.E. (Department of Government Efficiency) philosophy.

From an engineering perspective, you cannot find the true limit of optimization by being careful. You find it by cutting until the system breaks. You have to make the mistake of over-cutting.

If you don’t over-cut, you don’t know where the threshold is. You cut 10%? The system works. You cut 20%? It works. You cut 50%? It collapses. Good. Now you know the limit is 49%. You hire back the critical 1% and you run a lean machine.

So, where does this leave the small business owner? The freelancer? The artist? If you try to compete with AI on Quantity, you will lose. You cannot out-generate the machine. Speed is now a commodity.

The strategy for 2026 is to pivot entirely to Quality. And I don’t mean “expensive.” I mean “Luxury” in its true definition. Luxury is not a price tag. Luxury is the presence of a Human Soul.

While corporations use AI to average everything down to the lowest common denominator, the small shop, the artisan, and the local expert must double down on what AI cannot do: Community and Connection.

In 2026, the status symbol won’t be the newest headset. It will be the ability to disconnect. We are seeing a rejection of “Perfect.” When you see a video with perfect lighting, perfect stock footage, and a perfect voice, your brain now screams: “FAKE.” Trust is plummeting.