Last week, I joined tens of millions of Americans in reading an online post titled “Something Big Is Happening” by a tech entrepreneur named Matt Shumer.

Shumer wrote about the fundamental and rapid changes he is seeing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

The feedback, debate, concern, etc. about Shumer’s post continues. If you are interested in the post, you can find it — or many of the reactions posts — online fairly easily.

The bottom line is that, depending on who you trust, AI is either going to produce a utopia for mankind, or spell its demise, with an acceleration of the technology so rapid that it is hard to comprehend.

The reality will probably be somewhere in the middle — although when you find out that AI systems are now self-aware, doing things on their own and have some experts saying we have now lost control, it is definitely worrisome.

A leading AI safety researcher last week quit his job and wrote in his widely shared resignation letter that, “The world is in peril” with AI being one of the leading reasons.

While the broader fears may not come to pass, there is no doubt that fundamental change is afoot. That change will likely reshape the way we work and live far beyond anything in history.

(Relatively) short term, it would seem jobs like customer service, coder, architect, designer and bookkeeper will soon largely be replaced by AI.

Somewhat longer term, that could extend to warehouse and manufacturing, teaching and many other, if not most, white collar jobs.

There are other implications of the next wave of AI that extend to bioweapons, AI deceptions and — yes this is a real concern — that some AI systems in testing have shown that, rather than get shut down, they would accept blackmailing or even killing a person.

Whether AI represents a fundamental change in society that will happen in the next two years, or is an existential threat, one thing is clear: We need to be prepared.

The thought that many people think AI is a steak sauce, or at best something just used to make dancing cat videos, is concerning. Of course, many people have been working on AI implications globally for many years.

To that end, in February of 2025 in Paris, the U.S. declined to sign an international declaration called the “Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet.” The statement pledges an “open,” “inclusive” and “ethical” approach to AI development.

While 58 countries signed the declaration, the U.S. delegate, vice president JD Vance, said that too much regulation of artificial intelligence could “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off” and that AI was “an opportunity that the Trump administration will not squander,” according to the BBC. He added the opinion that “pro-growth AI policies” should be prioritised over safety.

What’s the correct approach? Time will tell, and by most estimations, very soon.

—Wes Swietek is the Daily News managing editor. He can be reached at wes.swietek@bgdailynews.com.