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- Matt Shumer warned in a viral essay that AI could disrupt jobs more than COVID.
- Industry leaders responded to Shumer's essay with a mix of approval and skepticism.
- Many business leaders also question what the solution for humans would be if the disruption is real.
Scientists and business leaders are responding to a viral essay warning of AI's impact on jobs with a mix of agreement and skepticism.
The essay, titled "Something Big is Coming," written by cofounder and CEO of OthersideAI, Matt Shumer, has racked up more than 60 million views on X as of Thursday.
In the 5,000-word post, Shumer said that AI could upend daily life on a scale "much bigger" than COVID, a comparison which drew pushback online. He wrote that the changes already unfolding in the tech sector are likely a preview of disruptions that could soon reach other industries as well.
"Even if there is a 20% chance of this happening, people deserve to know and have time to prepare," Shumer told Business Insider's Brent Griffiths in an interview.
Here's what some of the sharpest minds in AI are saying about Shumer's essay.
David Haber
Haber, a general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz specializing in technology investments, posted on X that Shumer's essay contains "great advice for how to get ahead in your job at any large company right now."
"'I used AI to do this analysis in an hour instead of three days is going to be the most valuable person in the room.' Not eventually. Right now," Haber quotes from the essay. "Learn these tools. Get proficient. Demonstrate what's possible."
Alexis Ohanian
The Reddit founder responded to Shumer's initial post on X with a simple comment: "Great writeup. Strongly agree."
Since 2023, Reddit has introduced a range of AI-driven tools, from search features that summarize user discussions to AI that sharpens its content recommendations and targets ads, but Ohanian recently emphasized that the platform must retain its humanity to stay competitive.
Eric Markowitz
Markowitz, the author and managing partner and director of research at Nightview Capital, a long-term-oriented investment firm, responded to Schumer with an essay almost as long, which criticized the practice of chasing speed and replacing the value of humanity simply because it could be done.
"These two worlds — Wall Street and Silicon Valley — have formed a feedback loop of short-termism so tight, so self-reinforcing, that they've confused efficiency with purpose, growth with meaning, and the elimination of people with progress," wrote Markowitz.
"I have two research assistants. Could I replace them with AI? Of course. But their value extends their weekly output," Markowitz added. "They give meaning to my work and I love seeing the excitement in their faces when they make a new discovery that I, alone, could not have found."
"Let me say it again: we are not our tools. We never have been," Markowitz wrote in conclusion.
Todd McLees
McLees, the founder of HumanSkills.AI, wrote on X that Shumer is not wrong, but he said that the advice Shumer provided is akin to "telling someone the floodwaters are rising and handing them a better bucket."
"As AI grows in ability, our role in defining direction, values, and purpose only becomes more essential," McLees said.
"What do you bring when the machine can do the work? That's the only question that matters when intelligence is abundant," McLees added. "Shumer wrote the alarm. It's a good one. But alarms don't tell you where to go. You have to find that within yourself."
Gary Marcus
Marcus, Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at NYU and founder of AI companies Robust.AI, has some harsh words for Schumer in his newsletter.
Marcuz called Shumer's blog post "weaponized hype, filled with vivid narrative and marketing speech," and said he did not provide real data to support the claim that the latest AI can write complicated apps without mistakes.
"Shumer's presentation is completely one-sided, omitting lots of concerns that have been widely expressed here and elsewhere," Marcus added, after discussing various studies that question the accuracy and productivity gain AI tools actually provide.
Vishal Misra
Misra, Vice Dean of Computing and Artificial Intelligence at Columbia University, responded in a lengthy Substack article that detailed why he doesn't think AI is as scary as it sounds, at least not right now.
Misra wrote that many strange AI behaviors that make them seem sentient, such as perceived resistance and self-preservation, are simply a result of training data.
As for the possible elimination of jobs, Misra said he understands the anxiety, but history says we may not need to panic.
"When the camera was invented, portrait painters had every reason to panic. Their livelihood depended on a skill that a machine could now approximate," Misra wrote.
"What happened? Painters didn't disappear. They were freed from the obligation to faithfully reproduce reality and ventured into impressionism, cubism, abstract expressionism," Misra added. "The camera didn't kill painting. It liberated it."
Read the original article on Business Insider
