The twilight of the chatbots
One Useful Thing Ethan Mollick ● Covered by 3 sources
AI models from leading labs are improving at exponential rates in their ability to perform complex work autonomously, with systems like Opus 4.7 completing tasks in hours that would take humans weeks, while the usage pattern is shifting from interactive chatbots to autonomous agents managed by human operators. A recent OpenAI study found that a quarter of its workforce regularly manages at least four AI agents simultaneously, with agents adopted across technical and non-technical departments at similar rates, and success depends more on user domain expertise than professional background. As capability improvements compound exponentially, organizations face rapid disruption where AI plans written months ago are already obsolete, creating institutional turbulence as policy and markets struggle to track improvements that don't move at human speed.
Why it matters
How work changes along the exponential
