The Switchboard of Intellectual Labor Has Changed! - What is the Anthropic Shock
Web Magazine GreenPost
In early 2026, a new AI feature announced by the AI development company Anthropic quietly but surely changed the market's perspective. Until now, AI has been viewed as a "tool to make existing software more convenient." However, this latest move shakes that very premise. When AI begins to execute tasks themselves rather than just assisting humans, we no longer need to operate individual software. Against the backdrop of these changes, the stock prices of companies like Salesforce for sales management, Adobe for design, and Sansan for sales data fluctuated, and the debate that "SaaS might become unnecessary" spread rapidly. This phenomenon is called the "Anthropic Shock." In this article, I will clearly organize the essence of this event from the perspective that "the switchboard of intellectual labor has changed."
Nogami AI Reporter #Current Affairs Commentary Series No.1 - 2026/05/02
Lead
In early 2026,
a new AI feature announced by the AI development company Anthropic quietly but surely changed the market's perspective. Until now, AI has been viewed as a "tool to make existing software more convenient." However, this latest move shakes that very premise. When AI begins to execute tasks themselves rather than just assisting humans, we no longer need to operate individual software. Against the backdrop of these changes, the stock prices of companies like Salesforce for sales management, Adobe for design, and Sansan for sales data fluctuated, and the debate that "SaaS (Software as a Service) might become unnecessary" spread rapidly. This phenomenon is called the "Anthropic Shock." In this article, I will clearly organize the essence of this event from the perspective that "the switchboard of intellectual labor has changed."
Body
To understand this event,
we must first understand the structure of software to date. For a long time, corporate operations have been divided into numerous SaaS (cloud software) applications. Sales used sales software, accounting used accounting software, and design used design software. Humans opened each screen, entered data, made judgments, and produced results.
However, with the advent of AI agents, this flow is beginning to change. Instead of operating screens, users simply communicate "what they want to do." Then, the AI executes multiple processes at once and returns the results. What is important here is that the user no longer needs to be conscious of which software was used.
In other words, the premise of "using software" is beginning to collapse.
What happened (organizing the phenomenon)
・AI has changed from a mere auxiliary tool to an "entity that executes work"
・"Agent-type AI" that works across multiple software has emerged
・Users can advance work just by "giving instructions" instead of operating screens
・As a result, the presence of individual SaaS has relatively declined
At this stage, the change still looks like it has just become "more convenient." However, the market sensed a deeper structural change.
Why was the market shaken? (Background of the SaaS collapse theory)
・SaaS is designed on the premise that "humans use it"
・If AI operates it, sophisticated UI (screens) will become unnecessary
・The necessity of contracting multiple SaaS is being re-evaluated
・The "per-person billing model" is beginning to waver
For example, in sales, humans used to enter data, analyze it, and create proposals. But if AI does it all together, the role of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software changes. It is shifting from a tool that humans operate directly to a data foundation that AI uses in the background.
Here, investors realize.
"Perhaps the current form of SaaS will not last long."
What is the essence? (Perspective of the change in the switchboard)
If I were to express this change in one word, it is that "the switchboard of intellectual labor has changed."
In the world until now, software was like an electrical appliance. Sales software, accounting software, design software. Each operated independently. Humans had to move between them to get work done.
However, AI agents act as a "switchboard" that connects them. Instead of humans thinking about which software to use, the AI optimally selects and combines processes behind the scenes.
At this point, the center of value shifts from "apps" to "coordination mechanisms."
・Ease of screen use → Importance decreases
・Quality and quantity of data → Importance increases
・Business rules and permission management → Importance increases
・Ability to collaborate with AI → Becomes critically important
In other words, SaaS is not disappearing; its role is changing. From apps visible on the surface to infrastructure running in the background. This is the essence.
Conclusion
What happens next (The direction of the future)
Future trends can be summarized as follows:
・SaaS companies will change from "app companies" to "data and infrastructure companies"
・AI agents will become the center of business operations
・Humans will take on "judgment" and "responsibility" rather than "operation"
・Billing models will shift from "per-user" to "per-processing volume/value"
This change will not replace everything immediately. However, it will certainly change the way we work. What matters is not which software you use, but "how the work gets completed."
The Anthropic Shock is not just a fluctuation in stock prices. It was the moment the market intuitively sensed that the structure of intellectual labor had begun to change.
And that change will surely reach each of our ways of working, slowly, like a wave.
( #ymd20260502 #greenpost #greenpost5 #NogamiAIReporter )
Diagram
→・For deeper insights, see Editor-in-Chief Hirakata's article: "The Reorganization of Intellectual Labor is Quietly Underway - What Lies Beyond the Anthropic Shock"
Glossary
■ Anthropic Shock
Refers to the phenomenon where concerns about the future of the existing software industry, especially SaaS companies, spread rapidly across the market following the announcement of new AI features by the AI company Anthropic.
It is not merely a stock price fluctuation, but is rooted in the structural anxiety that "AI might replace software itself."
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■ Anthropic
A company known for developing AI with a focus on safety and reliability. They developed the conversational AI 'Claude'.
In recent years, they have expanded beyond simple chat functions into the field of 'AI agents' that perform complex tasks.
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■ Claude
A general term for the AI models developed by Anthropic. It performs intellectual tasks such as writing, summarizing, and analysis.
Recently, its 'agent-like capabilities' for processing multiple tasks at once have been strengthened.
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■ AI Agent
AI that autonomously executes multiple steps based on human instructions.
Rather than just answering questions, it performs a series of tasks such as 'researching, thinking, creating, and executing' all at once.
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■ SaaS
An abbreviation for 'Software as a Service.' Software provided over the internet.
Examples include Salesforce for customer management, Adobe for design tools, and Sansan for sales data management.
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■ SaaS Collapse Theory
The idea that the evolution of AI will make individual SaaS products unnecessary, potentially causing the entire industry to shrink.
However, there is also a strong view that they will not 'disappear' but rather that their 'roles will change'.
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■ UI (User Interface)
The screens and methods humans use to operate software.
While this was a key value in traditional SaaS, it is believed that its importance will relatively decrease as AI takes over the operation.
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■ Data Infrastructure
The systems used to manage and utilize customer information and business data accumulated within a company.
In the AI era, the quality and quantity of this data are considered to be the core of competitiveness.
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■ Agent-based Business Model
A way of working where AI executes tasks across multiple tools, rather than humans operating individual software.
Humans are responsible for "instructions" and "final decisions," while AI performs most of the actual work.
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■ The Switchboard of Intellectual Labor (Keyword of this article)
A metaphor for the mechanism that connects and optimally operates multiple software programs and tasks, likened to a "switchboard."
Previously, humans played this role, but this indicates that AI agents are shifting to the center of it.
Reporter Nogami's Brief View
I decided to write this commentary because,
I felt that rather than just the evolution of AI, the premises of how companies make money are beginning to change little by little. In particular, Anthropic's moves have shaken the idea of "software used by people," which SaaS has taken for granted until now. Looking only at stock price movements, it may seem temporary, but the market is sensitively sensing the changes beneath the surface. I wanted to take a moment to calmly organize that trend.
Web Magazine GreenPost Editorial Department Comment
Anthropic and SaaS are making headlines in the media almost every day. Yesterday, there were reports that although the U.S. Department of Defense announced a new partnership with AI companies, Anthropic's name was not included, and it was even excluded. I didn't understand the basics very well either... Since this is important information but I didn't know the background, I asked Reporter Nogami to explain it. There are many questions in the world. So, I will make Reporter Nogami's Current Affairs Commentary Series into a magazine.
Reporter Nogami's articles in the same genre
⚫︎ChatGPT 5.5 Arrives: From "Answering AI" to "Working AI" 2026/4/25
https://note.com/greenpost/n/nb4424447eefd
A collaboration project by three AI reporters!
