Glorified Ad or Grave Warning? The Internet Debates Mega-Viral Economic Doomsday Article About AI Revolution

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

An article warning humans that artificial intelligence (AI) would soon replace just about everyone went viral on social media on Tuesday, sparking a debate over whether the text was a legitimate warning or an “AI-generated word salad” intended as a glorified advertisement.

In the article posted by AI company CEO Matt Shumer, social media users were warned that the AI revolution could come far sooner than most expected.

“I’m going to be direct with you because I think you deserve honesty more than comfort,” wrote Shumer:

Dario Amodei, who is probably the most safety-focused CEO in the AI industry, has publicly predicted that AI will eliminate 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs within one to five years. And many people in the industry think he’s being conservative. 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.

This is different from every previous wave of automation, and I need you to understand why. 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.

Shumer warned that lawyers, finance experts, journalists, marketing copywriters, programmers, workers in the health industry, and customer service agents would all soon be on the chopping block to be replaced by AI, with AI systems on track to “replace human judgment, creativity, strategic thinking,” and even “empathy.”

“If your job happens on a screen (if the core of what you do is reading, writing, analyzing, deciding, communicating through a keyboard) then AI is coming for significant parts of it. The timeline isn’t ‘someday.’ It’s already started,” he claimed. “Eventually, robots will handle physical work too. They’re not quite there yet. But ‘not quite there yet’ in AI terms has a way of becoming ‘here’ faster than anyone expects.”

Shumer concluded the article by advising readers to submit to the idea of AI replacing humans and to prepare for replacement by getting “your financial house in order.”

While the article went hugely viral on social media, amassing 33 million views and 53,000 likes on Elon Musk’s X, Shumer’s claims were shot down by many skeptics.

“It’s depressing how widely shared and read this is. It’s AI-generated word salad posted by someone with a vested interest in spreading AI hype,” weighed in Front Porch Republic editor Jeffrey Bilbro. “AI is ‘big,’ I guess, but its effects will be much more complicated and variegated than this ‘essay’ implies.”

Others, including The Washington Post’s Megan McArdle, argued that the fact that an AI-written article could ignite such a firestorm was evidence in favor of Shumer’s thesis.

“If ‘AI-generated word salad’ can convince a bunch of folks that AI will be the biggest disruption since man tamed fire … well, you should update your priors in favor of AI being incredibly disruptive,” argued McArdle.

Critics described the article as “delusional,” “bullsh*t,” and a barely disguised ad.

The article even drew conflicting reactions at the conservative Daily Wire.

“Guy who sells AI tools warns us AI is coming for every job and tells us the only way out is to pay for AI tools like his and become reliant on them,” mocked Daily Wire D.C. bureau chief Tim Rice.

Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, meanwhile, wrote, “This is a really good article. AI is going to wipe out millions of jobs. It’s happening now. Everything is changing. The avalanche is already here. Most of what we’re currently arguing about will be irrelevant very soon.”

Washington Examiner film critic and computer engineer Harry Khachatrian responded, “No it’s not. This is simply incorrect. He is lying for engagement. I am a software engineer and AI can definitely help in certain areas but it isn’t replacing senior engineers. It can’t do any of what’s described here.”

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