'AI bigger than Covid': New York-based CEO sounds alarm on rapid evolution

Matt Shumer said that AI is likely to take on roles across law, finance, medicine, accounting, consulting, writing, design, analysis, and customer service

New York-based Chief Executive Officer Matt Shumer said that artificial intelligence (AI) is something bigger than Covid-19 pandemic. He noted that people cannot keep talking about AI in an “eventually we should discuss this” way, but instead need to understand that “this is happening right now".

 

Shumer is the CEO of OthersideAI, which offers HyperWrite, an AI-assisted writing tool. In a blog post titled 'Something Big Is Happening', Shumer sounded an alarm that AI is changing things rapidly. He said AI is moving from being a “helpful tool” to something that “does my job better than I do".

What is going to change?

Shumer said that AI is likely to take on roles across law, finance, medicine, accounting, consulting, writing, design, analysis, and customer service. “Not in 10 years. The people building these systems say one to five years. Some say less. And given what I've seen in just the last couple of months, I think ‘less’ is more likely,” he wrote.

 

Commenting on those who believe AI is not good enough, Shumer said: “If you tried ChatGPT in 2023 or early 2024 and thought ‘this makes stuff up’ or ‘this isn't that impressive', you were right. Those early versions were genuinely limited. They hallucinated. They confidently said things that were nonsense. That was two years ago. In AI time, that is ancient history.”

How is AI developing?

Shumer said the hardest part used to be writing code for AI. Now, AI is writing code to improve itself. He added that the latest models show “judgment” and “taste” and can make intelligent decisions that many once believed AI would never handle.

 

He also shared how quickly AI has evolved:

• 2022: AI struggled with basic arithmetic and could give wrong answers like 7 × 8 = 54.
• 2023: It could pass the bar exam.
• 2024: It could write working software and explain graduate-level science.
• Late 2025: Some top engineers said they had handed over most of their coding work to AI.
• February 2026: New models arrived that made previous versions feel outdated.

What will be its impact on jobs?

According to Shumer, AI is not replacing just one skill; it is becoming a general substitute for cognitive work. Here's what AI can do effectively across industries:

• Legal work: Reviews contracts, summarises case law, drafts briefs, and conducts research at the junior associate level.
• Financial analysis: Builds financial models, analyses data, writes investment memos, and generates reports.
• Writing and content: Produces marketing copy, journalism, and technical writing that many cannot distinguish from human work.
• Software engineering: Writes large volumes of functional code and automates complex, multi-day projects; significant job reduction likely.
• Medical analysis: Interprets scans, analyses lab results, suggests diagnoses, and reviews medical literature.
• Customer service: Handles complex, multi-step customer queries, far beyond traditional chatbots.

“A lot of people find comfort in the idea that certain things are safe, that AI can handle the routine work but not human judgment, creativity, strategy, or empathy. I used to say this too. I'm not sure I believe it anymore,” he said.

What does Shumer suggest?

Shumer said the person who can say in a meeting, “I used AI to finish this in one hour instead of three days,” instantly becomes more valuable. He urged professionals to learn the tools, practise using them, and demonstrate results.

 

He warned that those who dismiss AI as a fad or feel threatened by it risk falling behind. At the same time, he advised strengthening financial stability by building savings, limiting unnecessary debt, and maintaining flexibility.

 

He recommended focusing on skills that are harder to replace, such as trusted relationships, licensed responsibility, physical presence, and roles in regulated industries. These may not offer permanent protection, but they provide time to adapt.

 

Finally, Shumer encouraged building a habit of constant learning. Since AI tools evolve rapidly, adaptability is key. He suggested spending one hour a day actively using and experimenting with AI. Over six months, he said, that alone could put someone ahead of most of their peers.