Help, I think I'm building an AI tool to lay off my coworkers

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

Matt Pressberg didn't set out to build a job-killing AI tool. He and his business partner at Hype Lab, a small PR firm, spun up an AI agent they call Maria to help them draft pitches and monitor their inboxes. Their robotic "competent but strategic intern" lets the two-man team punch above their weight. Recently, however, a larger PR firm he occasionally works with approached him about building and deploying a Maria-like product at their company — with explicit intentions.