The "Something Big" Ripple Effect: A DTC Perspective

There is a viral essay circulating right now by Matt Shumer called "Something Big."

His thesis is simple and terrifying: We are currently in the "March 2020" of AI.

Remember that brief, eerie window where we knew COVID was here, but the lockdowns hadn't started yet? That is where we are with Artificial Intelligence. We are in the quiet before a non-linear explosion that changes the entire labor market.

Shumer argues that total automation of cognitive labor is imminent.

Naturally, the knee-jerk reaction for every founder reading this is: "If everyone loses their white-collar job, who is going to have the money to buy my product?"

At Pixel Theory, we see the "Big Thing" coming. But I view it differently than the doomsayers. I view it through the lens of brand endurance.

Here’s my perspective on the AI apocalypse.

If AI displaces 30% of the workforce, the economy crashes, right?

Look back at 2020. When the world shut down and unemployment spiked, what happened to ecommerce? It exploded.

Why? Because the government turned on the money printer.

If AI triggers a massive displacement of labor, history suggests a massive government response, Universal Basic Income (UBI), stimulus checks, or "digital handouts."

I personally disagree with the politics of UBI. But as a business owner, you need to deal in reality: Consumerism is a resilient category.

People do not stop needing products to live, express themselves, or improve their status. Even in a "post-labor" economy, the desire for "better" remains.

Shumer suggests that AI models now possess "taste" and can operate autonomously.

I call "Smoke and Mirrors."

We are still a long way from an AI that can navigate the nuance of human desire, culture, and market trends without a human hand on the wheel.

At Pixel Theory, our vision isn't to replace our team with bots. It’s to hire the top 1% of talent and arm them with the best tools.

The future of DTC isn't a chatbot running your Facebook ads. It’s a world-class growth expert using AI to automate the data cleaning, the reporting, and the basic creative iterations so they can spend 100% of their time on strategy.

We aren't firing the pilot; we’re giving them a faster jet.

The danger right now isn't AI; it's Shiny Object Syndrome.

There is a lot of noise. Thousands of "startups" are just ChatGPT wrappers promising "autonomous growth." Most of them are trash that will damage your brand equity.

Our Rule: If an AI tool doesn't demonstrably remove friction or provide a better experience for the end consumer, ignore it.

In a world where everyone can generate average copy with a prompt, the "Human Edge" actual taste, strategy, and creative direction becomes more valuable, not less. Scarcity drives value. Authentic human creativity is about to become very scarce.

I align with Shumer on one thing: Complacency is death.

You cannot ignore this. You have to adapt without ego. For me, that means:

Something big is happening.

But it isn't the end of the consumer economy, it’s the professionalization of it.

The brands that win won't be the ones that fire their staff to hire a chatbot. They will be the ones that leverage elite human talent to wield these tools, cutting the "grunt work" to focus entirely on building products that people love.

The money will still be there. The consumers will still be there. We’re just changing the engine.