Musical accompaniment for this week’s newsletter. It’s not often that a tech founder drops a blog post that notches almost 100 million views and scrambles the national conversation in less than a week. And by “not often,” I mean “never.”
So, last week when Matt Shumer posted “Something Big Is Happening,” it was noteworthy in part because of the ripples it set off among the chattering classes. When A-list national columnists like Peggy Noonan and Maureen Dowd, who normally argue about manners and politics, start sounding like risk analysts at Bridgewater, it’s worth noting.
The response in tech circles has been mixed. Some applaud his framing as a useful wake-up call, while others call it alarmist or rooted more in narrative than rigorous evidence. My take is that it is a gulp-inducing read. This isn’t just changing the trajectory of your career arc; this is a full-blown existential crisis, stock up on MREs and ammo because societal collapse is coming kind of stuff. Scary stuff? Maybe. Overwrought? A little.
Don’t get me wrong. AI is certainly rearranging all the furniture in the room in just about every way. But Shumer’s take isn’t any more concerning than any given half-dozen headlines on an average weekday.
- Anthropic tanked the market with its product release, rocketing it ahead of its rivals.
- AI commercials were all over The Super Bowl — a cultural signifier if there ever was one — including Anthropic razzing OpenAI’s ads in ChatGPT.
- AI bots bullying humans have even Silicon Valley rattled.
- Aurora's driverless trucks can now travel farther distances faster than even the most meth-addled human driver.
- Big Tech accounting is a blind spot in the AI boom, as depreciation expenses are about to soar, creating a serious transparency problem.
- Big Tech’s AI push is costing a lot more than the Moon Landing.
And that’s just last week. I don’t know about you, but that’s a Whitman’s sample of existential dread right there. So, sure, AI is already tearing through Corporate America, and the U.S. (or anyone else for that matter) isn’t ready for what AI will do to jobs. But let’s strike a reassuring tone for a minute.
I don’t consider myself a super-user of AI by any means. I know people who are — many of whom I’m lucky enough to call colleagues. AI saves me 15 to 20 hours a week, every week. Maybe more. Most of that work is junior-level work — give me a 10 takes on this headline idea, summarize this article, tell me how to punch up this draft. Of course, the reward for getting your work done faster is … more work. That’s the ultimate irony. Loads of times saving; busier than ever.
The thing that jumps out at me about all my AI work is this: AI still does a lot of really stupid s#!t. Missing the forest for the trees. Basic spreadsheet errors. Ignoring clear instructions. For a writer, it’s still like a really smart intern. You are impressed with some of the work; other times, you wonder if it fell off its bike and hit its head. But thank goodness for workslop — it’s the best job security an experienced writer could ask for.
I understand that AI is getting better faster than most of us imagined. I don’t wish to minimize that. Am I concerned that AI is already disrupting the white-collar job market? Absolutely — especially in tech and especially among entry-level workers. But there have always been concerns that the latest technological progress will disrupt employment, without considering that these new technologies also create new types of jobs. I also think back to words a wise elder once shared with me. “Most of the things I worried about the most never came to pass. The things that knocked me over I never saw coming.” Something to consider.
What else is going on this week?
Work Tech Weekly Podcast: Dustin Clinard
In my latest Work Tech Weekly episode, I talk with Dustin Clinard, CEO of Ignis AI. We dig into why traditional assessments may be misaligned with the AI era and whether human skills have quietly become the hardest skills of all. AI can now build a presentation deck in seconds — probably better than you can. But can it decide what story the deck should tell? LISTEN NOW
Subscribe To The Rep Cap Email For Full Access
Starting this week, you will need to subscribe to the Rep Cap email version to get the recommended weekly allowance of Work Tech news, including funding events, acquisitions, and industry notes. The email goes out every Monday morning. To sign-up, go to: https://go.repcap.com/en-us/work-tech-weekly
