Every and AI: When Automation Creates More Human Jobs

Dan Shipper, co-founder and CEO of the media and software company Every, shares an intriguing vision of the future of work. With a team of around 30 people, Every positions itself as a living laboratory to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on the professional world. All team members, from editors to operations managers, use AI to accomplish a significant portion of their tasks, providing Every with a unique perspective on the evolution of work.

A year ago, Shipper had already predicted that Claude Code would be underestimated for non-technical work, a prediction that has proven accurate. Today, he offers bold new forecasts: the idea of a SaaS apocalypse is unfounded, command-line interfaces (CLIs) are obsolete, and the role of the forward-deployed engineer is becoming crucial. According to him, following AI models is essential to remain employed.

Dan Shipper's Forecasts

Shipper envisions that the future of work will take place within platforms like Codex or Claude Code. He predicts that every company will soon have a "super-agent" integrated into Slack, allowing employees to regularly interact with AI.

Contrary to widespread fears, Shipper remains optimistic about the future of SaaS. He even advises investing in SaaS stocks, anticipating an evolution where users will bring their own AI tokens into applications, thereby improving SaaS profit margins.

Product managers (PMs) and full-stack designers are also promised a bright future in this AI-dominated era. Shipper asserts that the AI job apocalypse is not underway, and that the forward-deployed engineer is becoming the most valuable role.

Finally, he emphasizes that we will increasingly read AI-generated content and appreciate it. The future of software, according to him, lies in a joint use by humans and AI agents.