Why does Simon Cetin say knowledge is no longer a competitive advantage?

Because generative AI tools like ChatGPT have made access to knowledge cheap and nearly universal. When anyone can retrieve expert-level information instantly, simply knowing more than others stops being a meaningful differentiator.

What replaces knowledge as the key differentiator in the AI era, according to Cetin?

Character, integrity, responsibility, and the ability to collaborate. Cetin argues that as intelligence becomes democratized, human values become the traits that distinguish people and organizations that succeed from those that don't.

Simon Cetin is a co-founder and partner at iPROM, a digital advertising and martech company, and the founder of Retoba. This column was originally published in the June 2026 issue of Konkvistador magazine.

What does this mean for leadership and hiring decisions?

Cetin suggests organizations should weigh character, integrity, and collaborative ability alongside technical knowledge when developing leaders, since AI can supply knowledge on demand but cannot supply trustworthiness or judgment.

iPROM news Archives

iPROM-News_Simon-Cetin-for-Konkvistador-1-300x157

Simon Cetin for Konkvistador: When Knowledge Becomes Cheap, Character Becomes Valuable

07. 08. 2026

When I was invited to write for the inaugural issue of Konkvistador, I asked the editor a simple question: Who are your readers? I expected demographics, percentages and market segments. I received something else: I felt an energy. She spoke about curiosity. About people who are not satisfied with the surface. About a generation that […]

2026 August 1
2026 June 2
2026 May 2
2026 April 1
2026 February 1
2025 December 1
2025 November 1
2025 October 1
2025 September 1
2025 June 3
2025 February 1
2024 November 1
2024 June 1
2023 June 1
2022 October 1
2022 May 1
2022 April 2
2022 March 1
2021 October 1
2021 August 2
2021 June 1
2020 December 1
2020 September 1
2020 August 2
2020 July 2
2020 June 5
2020 May 5
2020 April 1
2020 March 1
2020 January 1
2019 December 1
2019 November 3
2019 September 1