The biggest risk for companies isn’t AI, it’s the stagnation of skills

Across the Reaktor Ecosystem, we have been accelerating our customers’ AI capabilities with the support of partners like Forge, Adventure Club, and Codemate. Together we have helped organisations not only adopt new AI tools but also rethink how they work, learn, and lead in the age of intelligent systems.

But as AI becomes more capable, a new challenge is emerging, one that technology alone cannot solve. It is not the risk of AI replacing people, but the risk of people stopping their own learning.

Technology is developing faster than any education system can adapt. In the age of AI, a company’s success no longer depends on technology itself, but on how quickly people learn to use it wisely and how effectively they share what they learn.

Companies that make learning a structure, not a reaction, stay ahead. When learning is continuous, employees’ thinking developes at the same pace as technology. However, training must be purchased and organised in a way that supports daily work rather than disrupts it. For example, taking a consultant away from client work for a full day may lower billable rates, but short and recurring online workshops can actually improve both quality and speed.

Learning is also a leadership issue. Leaders cannot outsource capability development; they must lead by example, keep learning themselves, and create space for teams to share knowledge openly. A leader should model working with AI, including the mistakes, because it lowers the threshold for teams to experiment.

At the same time, every employee must take responsibility for their own development. Maintaining skills is no longer a luxury; it is a professional duty. Sometimes that means exploring new things outside working hours: reading, experimenting, discussing, prototyping, publishing content.

Entrepreneurs and consultants know this well. Every project pushes them into unfamiliar territory where learning is not optional. The same readiness is now required in every field.

The winners of the future will not be those with the most sophisticated technology, but those who learn the fastest to see what AI makes possible.

This article was originally published in Finnish in Tivi.