This is just the beginning
“This is just the beginning.”
A phrase I encountered recently at the end of a very long article that could have been summarized as: something happened, therefore panic.
What actually happened? Anthropic released a new version of Claude, their AI model, and casually mentioned it can now help with legal work. Naturally, humanity responded in the most measured way possible: absolute hysteria.
Markets wobbled. Investors dumped software stocks like they were suddenly radioactive. Twitter (sorry, X) declared the end of white-collar work by lunchtime. And somewhere, a publisher leaned back in their chair, cracked their knuckles, and typed I told you so.
Apparently, they saw all of this coming. The AI takeover. The collapse of professional services. The downfall of civilization as we know it. Curious how this prophetic insight never translated into, say, becoming wildly rich as an investment advisor before the news dropped. But now? Now they can definitely see the future. Trust them.
Honestly, the article read suspiciously like it was written by Claude itself. Which, if true, would be the funniest possible outcome. The machines aren’t just taking our jobs — they’re taking credit for predicting themselves.
But let’s pause the doom clock for a second. Because if AI is truly coming for everything, there are some upsides I’d like to discuss.
Tax season is approaching. A season defined by confusion, rage, and TurboTax politely asking me questions that feel like traps. If AI is about to annihilate the legal profession, surely Intuit is next, right? I would love an AI that predicts my tax return, files it flawlessly, talks to the IRS on my behalf, and never once asks me to upload a PDF I already uploaded.
Wake me up when that happens.
Until then, this all feels eerily familiar — like autonomous driving, where we’ve been promised massive robotaxi fleets “next year” for the last decade. Any day now. Just one more model update. One more breakthrough. Definitely next year.
Meanwhile, the stock market has already started to recover. Apocalypse postponed. Again.
So yes, this might be “just the beginning.” Or it might be just another episode in our long-running series: Humans Overreact to Technology, Season 47.
Stock market rebounding. AI still can’t file my taxes. But sure — let’s prepare for doomsday.
Thoughts? Panic? Calm? Robot CPA recommendations?
Let me know in the comments.