On Thursday, February 12, 2026, the tech world is buzzing over a viral essay penned by Matt Shumer, the CEO and founder of Hyperwrite (and co-founder of OthersideAI). Known as a veteran in the AI space, Shumer’s latest warning has struck a chord because it abandons “cocktail-party” optimism for a brutal look at how AI is already hollowing out the C-suite—starting with himself.
Add businessleague.in as a Preferred Source
Shumer argues that we have moved past the “interesting dinner conversation” phase. We are now in a period of rapid rearrangement that will be “much bigger than Covid.”
Also Read |Tamil Nadu Voter List Purge: 97 Lakh Names Deleted in SIR Phase 1
“It Happened to Me First”: Shumer’s Personal Admission
The most striking part of the essay is Shumer’s admission that his own technical skills have become obsolete.
-
Zero Oversight: Shumer describes a workflow where he simply tells the AI what he wants, leaves his computer for four hours, and returns to find the work done.
-
Higher Quality: He claims the AI’s output is consistently better than his own work, requiring zero corrections.
-
The Shift: Just months ago, he was “guiding” the model; now, he is merely describing outcomes and leaving.
The Small Circle of Influence: Who Actually Controls the Future?
In a moment of radical transparency, Shumer debunked the idea that the broader tech industry has a say in what’s coming next.
“I have almost no influence over what’s about to happen, and neither does the vast majority of the industry. The future is being shaped by a few hundred researchers at a handful of companies: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and a few others.”
He warns that a single training run by a small team can now shift the entire trajectory of global technology, leaving everyone else—including other AI CEOs—to simply build on top of foundations they didn’t lay.
Also Read |Tamil Nadu Voter List Purge: 97 Lakh Names Deleted in SIR Phase 1
The Cognitive Substitute: Why This Isn’t Like the Industrial Revolution
Historically, when technology disrupted an industry, workers could pivot. When tractors arrived, farmers moved to factories. When the internet hit retail, workers moved to logistics.
-
No Convenient Gap: Shumer argues that AI is different because it is a universal substitute for cognitive work.
-
Simultaneous Improvement: Whatever you choose to retrain for—be it legal work, financial analysis, or journalism—the AI is improving at that specific task at the exact same time.
-
The “Taste” Factor: Modern 2026 models (like GPT-5.3 and Opus 4.6) are no longer just technically correct; they are showing an intuitive sense of “judgment” and “taste.”
Economic Survival: Getting Your “Financial House in Order”
Shumer concludes with a pragmatic, if somber, piece of advice: Adapt early and save often.
-
Financial Resilience: He urges everyone to prepare for industry-wide disruption by prioritizing financial stability now, noting that the technology “works and improves predictably.”
-
Lose the Ego: He advises against resisting the tech out of professional pride. Those who use it early will have the “single biggest advantage” during the transition.
-
The Timeline: With the capability for massive disruption arriving by the end of this year, the “ripple effects” through the economy are expected to be felt throughout 2027 and 2028.
Also Read |Tamil Nadu Voter List Purge: 97 Lakh Names Deleted in SIR Phase 1
[THE “AT RISK” KNOWLEDGE SECTORS: 2026]
| Industry | Current Impact Level | Predicted Change by EOY 2026 |
| Software Engineering | High | Massive reduction in entry-level coding roles |
| Legal/Compliance | Moderate | Automated document review and judgment simulation |
| Content/Journalism | Extreme | AI “taste” models handling 80% of drafting |
| Customer Service | Extreme | Near-total automation of tier-1 and tier-2 support |
Next Steps
If you are currently in an entry-level white-collar role, you should read Shumer’s full essay, “Something Big Is Happening,” to understand the specific “vibe-coding” and outcome-based workflows he describes. Furthermore, if you are a business owner, you should evaluate the latest O3 and GPT-5.3 reasoning models to see if your “technical” bottlenecks can already be resolved with a simple description of the desired outcome.
Also Read |Tamil Nadu Voter List Purge: 97 Lakh Names Deleted in SIR Phase 1
End…
Add businessleague.in as a Preferred Source
