As with everything, if you don't know the fundamentals, the basics, you are very limited on what you can achieve and find stuff difficult.

To use a parallel from software if you just know a programming language, how to call libraries and APIs you can't compare to a guy with a solid CS background who also understands algorithms, data structures, complexity, math and knows how computers work down to NAND gates.

Because I have studied some ML fundamentals during my batchelor and master degrees I know I am not competent in ML and AI. But I know how to become competent if I need or want to. Most people do believe finishing a bootcamp and calling some frameworks in Python makes them competent.