The three value levers filter
Practicum for Chapter 2 of Volume 1, "The New Price of Intelligence." Version: 2026-07. Time: 10 to 15 minutes. Use one worksheet for one task or product. You can also use the interactive browser version. It does the math in your browser and does not send your data anywhere.
AI makes output cheaper. Output is a finished artifact such as a text, report, design, or piece of code. If your value came from producing something quickly and neatly, that advantage is fading. Value is moving to outcome: framing the problem, applying judgment, earning trust, reaching people, and taking responsibility for the result. This worksheet is a quick filter. It shows which of the three levers creates value in your task and whether cheap AI is wiping out that value.
The three levers from the chapter
| Lever | What it means | What cheap AI does to it |
|---|---|---|
| New sales and growth | You do something others cannot do (the "magic") | Helps people who already have something unique, but does not create that uniqueness for them |
| Cost savings | You do the same work faster or at a lower cost | Erases the advantage for everyone. It becomes the new baseline. |
| Attention and trust | People choose you and trust you | Your channel and relationships become more valuable when everyone can produce more content |
The chapter's point: everyone gets the same cost savings at roughly the same time. An advantage remains where you have magic, something others cannot offer, or attention and trust, the reason people choose you. This is not a verdict on the task. It tells you where not to place your claim of advantage.
What gets cheaper and what becomes an advantage
Gets cheaper (output, a commodity) |
Becomes an advantage (outcome, which you own) |
|---|---|
| Standard text, a first draft, or an initial summary | Problem framing and a precise question |
| Analysis based on a standard template | Judgment and taste: what is right or good here |
| Routine code or a standard design | Trust and relationships with specific people |
| Answering a common question | Attention and distribution: who gets chosen, and why |
| Putting data into one format | Responsibility for the result and its consequences |
| Translation, transcription, or formatting | Unique context and data that other people do not have |
Fill this out for one task
- Task or product:
__________________________ - Main lever (sales and growth / cost savings / attention and trust):
____________ - Can cheap AI already do this on its own? (almost completely / partly / no):
____________ - Does this set you apart? (unique / somewhat / same as everyone else):
____________ - Your conclusion:
__________________________- If the lever is cost savings and AI can already do it, the task is becoming a baseline. Do it, but do not expect it to set you apart.
- If the answer is "same as everyone else" and AI can do it, this is cheaper
output. Automate it and free your time. - If it is unique and the lever is sales and magic, or attention and trust, this is your
outcome. Strengthen it.
- One move: What
outputwill you hand to AI, and whichoutcomewill you keep and strengthen yourself?__________________________
This filter does not measure money or calculate return on investment (ROI). It points you in a direction: where value is getting cheaper and where it still belongs to you. Calculate exact savings and revenue separately, using your own data. Use one lever for one task. If the task mixes several levers, split it into parts.
- Sort your week into task buckets and see how much of it is already getting cheaper: Review your week (Chapter 3).
- Decide where to move your
outcome: Your usefulness level (Chapter 5). - Follow the full route in the Volume 1 workbook.
- If you lead a team or a small business, apply the same filter to business functions with the Small business AI staff map (Volume 2).
Version: 2026-07. What changed: Added this worksheet to deliver the promise in Chapter 2: a three-lever filter and a table showing what gets cheaper and what becomes an advantage.