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The rise of artificial intelligence is causing significant concern across various industries, especially among creative professionals. I can relate personally, as two of my four daughters work as freelance commercial graphic artists. They are understandably anxious about the possibility of being outpriced and replaced by AI-driven solutions. On a personal note, I’m less concerned—after all, can any computer truly replicate my unique style, wit, and wisdom, along with my characteristic modesty?
However, a new wave of AI tools is emerging, and tech experts are cautioning that these innovations could lead to considerable shifts in the market.
Although the future is always unfolding at a steady pace—one hour at a time—the claim that these developments are groundbreaking may be overstated. To me, these tools look like more polished versions of their predecessors.
I’m particularly interested in how these advancements might impact roles such as administrative assistants. These professionals excel in human interaction, managing appointments, organizing meetings, and maintaining order. Can an AI truly negotiate with people or handle such tasks with the necessary finesse? I remain skeptical about this prospect.
Within the last month, a handful of new AI tools have pushed the technology past the tipping point — making it more accessible to everyone and more indispensable to those who know how to use it.
“Something big is happening,” Matt Shumer, co-founder and CEO of applied AI company OthersideAI, wrote earlier this week in a post on X that has since gone viral, attracting 75 million views and 34,000 shares.
Shumer described a before-and-after moment in his own work — the point at which AI stopped being a tool he guided and started completing complex, multi-day projects entirely on its own — and warned that the disruption will soon shape every profession.
Well, the future is always here; we’re catching up to it at the rate of one hour per hour, so that’s a somewhat nonsensical statement. But it seems to me that these new tools, no matter how slick and shiny, are just improved versions of the old ones.
OpenClaw, an open-source AI assistant that debuted in late January, has already amassed millions of users, and is dominating the conversations and happy hours of everyone in tech.
Meanwhile, OpenAI and Anthropic, arguably the two most prominent AI labs, each released new models on Feb. 5 that were so powerful, some in the tech space believe they can already eliminate white collar jobs like administrative assistants and junior bankers.
I’d like to see more details on this, especially where administrative assistants are concerned. These are people whose primary goal is dealing with other people, making appointments, arranging meetings, and keeping details straight. Can an AI negotiate with a human? Show some tact in doing so? Color me skeptical.