If AI can automate our work, what’s the point of having a job? |
If AI can automate our work, what’s the point of having a job?
February 19, 2026 — 6:55pm
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“Something big is happening.” That was the ominous headline of a 5000-word essay that ricocheted around the internet last week.
Written by Matt Shumer it breathlessly warned that the progress AI is making has now accelerated so quickly that we are severely underestimating the disruptive impact it’s likely have on almost every aspect of society.
Although written with a bias (Shumer is the chief executive of an AI company), and frequently hyperbolic, the essay unquestionably captured the zeitgeist. Within a week, the post had been read more than 83 million times, showing how widespread the fear and interest is in this new technology that’s moving quicker than we can........