A new framework identifies five essential skills knowledge workers need to thrive in an AI-powered workplace, grounded in domain judgment that AI systems cannot replicate. The research, from KPMG and the University of Texas at Austin, shows that the highest-impact AI users treat artificial intelligence as a reasoning partner rather than a tool, and these capabilities can be taught and scaled across organizations. As AI adoption accelerates across industries, workers who master these skills will be positioned to build new tools, recognize previously impossible opportunities, and maintain competitive advantage. The framework comes as the AI landscape undergoes rapid consolidation and competition. Cursor, a coding assistant, is challenging GitHub's dominance in developer tools, while Anthropic reports surging revenue from its Claude AI models. Additionally, Stripe's acquisition of OpenRouter signals growing integration of AI capabilities into payments and commerce infrastructure. Together, these developments underscore how quickly AI is reshaping competitive dynamics across industries—and why reskilling the existing workforce is now a top business priority.