You Don't Need a Degree to Get Good at AI | Kathleen deLaski

Getting good at AI does not take a degree, a tech background, or a year you do not have. Kathleen deLaski has spent a decade proving it. She founded the Education Design Lab, she advises the Harvard Project on the Workforce, she teaches AI at George Mason, and she wrote the book *Who Needs College Anymore?* She joined me on the AI Ready Podcast, and her message to anyone who feels behind was simple: if you know how to use the internet, you can figure this out. A few things she said worth holding onto: AI lets you isolate the exact skill a job needs, then hands you the shortest path to learn it. For the solo entrepreneur, AI is becoming the great equalizer. In her words, it gives them a staff, in effect. And to the professional over 50 who thinks the wave already passed: you do not need a degree, you need a push. If you have been waiting for permission or a prerequisite to start, this episode removes both.