Eric Siu argues that in 2026, the ability to build and ship things with AI matters more than raw intelligence. He points to Zapier cutting staff who lacked AI fluency, and highlights examples like Claude Code and simple camera diaries as proof that practical builders win.
In 2026, agency beats intelligence and it's not even close. And if you want to understand what agency is, it's just people that know how to figure stuff out. They get stuff done quickly. They don't wait to experiment. They move a lot faster. Intelligence is pure horsepower and intelligence alone is not enough. Agency is ultimately what you do with what you know. And the reality is AI is just commoditized intelligence. Without having true agency, you're not going to know how to pilot it. You're not going to be able to move quickly enough. Those who have agency right now, these are the ones that are spinning up different agentic workflows, different agents. They're leveraging MCI. They're using Claude Code to make their day-to-day easier. People are using Claude Code to control their air conditioning. They're using it to control their oven. They're even making little cameras that can take pictures of birds and making diaries. These are all people that don't know how to code, but because they are high agency, they're able to figure things out a lot faster than other people can. People with agency turn ideas into reality. This is why Zapier, as an AI company, they have about 700 people or so. They had to cut 10% of their staff. They had to cut 70 people because these people didn't have the agency to pick up AI fluency. So if you're hiring in 2026, don't just hire for IQ. Hire for people who build. Hire for people who ship, because that's where the future is going. If you want more AI and business tips like this, just hit follow.
