‘I work in AI, I have no influence over what’s about to happen’: Why everyone is sharing this essay by Hyperwrite CEO Matt Schumer

This time, he decided to skip the simplified version and speak plainly about what he believes is coming. To explain the pace of change, Schumer draws a comparison to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a matter of weeks, the world went from routine normalcy to widespread lockdowns. He believes AI disruption could unfold in a similarly abrupt way, not gradually over decades, but as a sudden shift that reshapes everything.

“I think we’re in the ‘this seems overblown’ phase of something much, much bigger than Covid.”

Despite running an AI company, Schumer says he has little control over the direction things are heading. According to him, the power to shape the future of AI rests with a very small circle of researchers at a handful of major labs.

“I should be clear about something up front: even though I work in AI, 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 remarkably small number of people: a few hundred researchers at a handful of companies… OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and a few others.”

Check out the essay:

https://t.co/ivXRKXJvQg

— Matt Shumer (@mattshumer_) February 10, 2026

For Schumer, this isn’t a distant concern. He insists the shift is already underway. “But it’s time now. Not in an ‘eventually we should talk about this’ way. In a ‘this is happening right now and I need you to understand it’ way.” One of the most striking parts of his essay is his admission that he no longer does much of the technical work he once handled himself. Instead, he gives instructions to AI tools, steps away for hours, and returns to finished output.

He says the results surpass what he would have produced on his own.

“Done well, done better than I would have done it myself, with no corrections needed. A couple of months ago, I was going back and forth with the AI, guiding it, making edits. Now I just describe the outcome and leave.”

Schumer also references a stark warning from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, that AI could wipe out half of entry-level white-collar roles. In his view, that scenario doesn’t feel far-fetched anymore. “Given what the latest models can do, the capability for massive disruption could be here by the end of this year. It’ll take some time to ripple through the economy, but the underlying ability is arriving now,” Schumer wrote.

Unlike past technological revolutions that replaced specific types of labor, he argues that AI is different. It doesn’t just automate one skill, it increasingly performs a broad range of thinking tasks. “AI isn’t replacing one specific skill. It’s a general substitute for cognitive work. It gets better at everything simultaneously. When factories automated, a displaced worker could retrain as an office worker. When the internet disrupted retail, workers moved into logistics or services. But AI doesn’t leave a convenient gap to move into. Whatever you retrain for, it’s improving at that too.”

He believes knowledge-based professions will feel the impact first, from law and finance to journalism, coding, medicine and customer support. According to Schumer, today’s models don’t just calculate; they display something that resembles human discernment. “The most recent AI models make decisions that feel like judgment. They show something that looked like taste: an intuitive sense of what the right call was, not just the technically correct one.”

Still, he says his message isn’t meant to spread panic. Instead, he sees awareness as a competitive advantage. “I’m not writing this to make you feel helpless. I’m writing this because I think the single biggest advantage you can have right now is simply being early. Early to understand it. Early to use it. Early to adapt,” advised Matt Schumer.

He urges people to treat AI as a serious tool rather than a novelty and to drop any sense of pride that might prevent them from learning how to use it effectively. He also recommends strengthening personal finances in case industries experience turbulence.

“I’m not a financial advisor, and I’m not trying to scare you into anything drastic. But if you believe, even partially, that the next few years could bring real disruption to your industry, then basic financial resilience matters more than it did a year ago.”

Schumer makes it clear that, in his view, this is not another passing tech craze. “I know this isn’t a fad. The technology works, it improves predictably, and the richest institutions in history are committing trillions to it,” Schumer wrote. Looking ahead, he expects the coming years to feel unsettling for many. “I know the next two to five years are going to be disorienting in ways most people aren’t prepared for. This is already happening in my world. It’s coming to yours.”

He closes with a final warning, and a reminder that the shift is closer than most think. “We’re past the point where this is an interesting dinner conversation about the future. The future is already here. It just hasn’t knocked on your door yet. It’s about to,” and concluded his note.