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The masterpiece
Prove the skill before moving up
Require a demonstration of unaided skill before advancement, so you certify ability rather than fluency with the tool.
Borrowed from medieval craft guilds, where a journeyman submitted a "masterpiece" to be judged before becoming a master. Read the original source.
Changes a rule or role · An hour or more to set up · Needs senior backing
Try this first
Before advancing someone, ask for one piece of work that shows the skill with the model not doing the hard part.
Use it when
Credentials are certifying tool-use rather than underlying skill.
Skip it when
It suits skills where unaided competence matters and can be shown. Where the AI-assisted skill is the actual job, testing unaided ability may miss the point.
How to introduce it
Make advancement require proof of unaided competence. A piece of work that demonstrates real skill, judged by people who know the craft. The guilds required a journeyman to produce a master piece before advancing. In the AI era it certifies that someone can do the work rather than operate the tool.
How to show up
Design a proof that tests the underlying skill rather than tool use, and have people who can tell the difference judge it. Keep it developmental. A milestone to reach, not a trap to spring.
How long it takes
Effort to design a good proof piece. The demonstration itself varies.
What makes it hard
Designing a proof that tests skill rather than tool fluency is hard, and gets harder as models produce more convincing work. Keep it developmental too, so people are supported toward it rather than caught out by it.
What it looks like when it's working
Advancement tracks demonstrated competence, and the team trusts that whoever advanced can do the work. People advancing on tool fluency alone, unable to perform unaided, means the proof tests the wrong thing.
How long until it sticks
A few rounds to get the proof testing skill rather than tool-use.
How you know it stuck
Advancement rests on demonstrated competence and the team keeps the proof honest as models improve.
The idea behind it
Fluency with a tool and competence at the work are different things, and only an unaided demonstration separates them.
Where it comes from
Craft guilds. A demonstrated proof-of-unaided-competence milestone, not a certificate of tool-use. A journeyman produced a "master piece" judged by the guild as proof of competence before advancing.
Why it matters for senior teams
Only a senior team can install it