What you get
Many AI newsletters are daily news briefings. This one sends fewer emails, each one worth your time, with a clear opinion on what to do about it. An edition is one of four things:
- Model reviews. Every major new AI, tested on real work before I tell you whether to switch.
- Plain-English guides. The exact methods and prompts I use, step by step, so you can copy them on Monday.
- Essays. What is actually happening in AI, and what it means for your job.
- The Roundup. When the news deserves it, the handful of stories that mattered, each with what it means for your work. About five minutes.
A few recent ones, all readable on the web:
Everything else is in the archive: all writing and every model review.
Who writes it
I do. I’m Matt Shumer, CEO of OthersideAI, the company behind HyperWrite, which has over 5 million users. I founded my first AI company at 19, and I back companies like Groq and Replit.
In February 2026 I wrote a letter to my non-tech friends about what AI was about to change. It became “Something Big Is Happening”, an essay read by more than 100 million people and featured in Fortune, CNBC and The New York Times. This newsletter is the sequel. My rule for every issue:
It must be clear enough for my dad to understand immediately, and powerful enough that a frontier AI researcher still learns something.
More on me and the newsletter on the about page.
How it compares to other AI newsletters
There are several good AI newsletters, and plenty of people read more than one. They differ in format, focus and frequency: some offer daily briefings, while others publish research analysis, tutorials or personal perspectives. Here is a fair summary of each, based on how each one describes itself on its own site (checked September 2026).
Something Big (this one)
Model reviews, guides, essays and occasional roundups · Free
Hands-on model reviews, plain-English guides, essays, and an occasional Roundup of the news that mattered. Written by Matt Shumer.
Best for: people who use AI at work and want fewer, deeper emails with a clear call on what to do next.
TLDR AI
Every weekday, about 5 minutes · Free
Short summaries of AI news, research papers, model releases and developer tools, each with a link to the source.
Best for: engineers, researchers and other technical readers who want a dense daily scan.
The Rundown AI
Daily, about 5 minutes
The latest AI news, why it matters, and how to apply it in your work. The same team also publishes Tech and Robotics newsletters.
Best for: professionals who want daily news paired with practical how-to.
Superhuman AI
Daily, about 3 minutes · Free
AI news and tools and how to use them at work, including tutorials and prompts.
Best for: readers who want a short daily read with something to try.
The Neuron
Daily, about 5 minutes · Free
The top AI news, tools and tips, written in plain language (“written so you’ll actually get it”).
Best for: non-technical readers who want a daily, plain-language catch-up.
Ben’s Bites
A mix of free and paid posts · Paid community $80/year
Ben Tossell on what he’s learning building with AI agents, plus mini-tutorials and reviews of tools worth trying.
Best for: builders, technical or not, who want to follow one hands-on builder’s experiments.
Import AI
Weekly · Free, with an optional paid tier
Detailed analysis of cutting-edge AI research and its implications, written by Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic.
Best for: readers who want to follow frontier research and what it could mean.
For a daily briefing, consider one of the daily newsletters above. Something Big offers Matt's model reviews, guides, essays and occasional roundups. You can read both.
Cadence, price and focus for other newsletters come from their own websites as of September 2026 and may change.
Questions
How often does it arrive?
The schedule varies with model releases and the news. If a week is boring, you don’t hear from me. Model reviews go out when a major new model ships, and the Roundup lands when the news deserves it.
Is it free?
Yes. The newsletter is free. Some editions include a sponsor or partnership, and those are labeled as such.
How do I unsubscribe?
Every email has an unsubscribe link at the bottom. One click and you’re off the list.
Is it technical?
No. It is written for people who use AI at work, not only people who build it: clear enough for someone with no technical background, and specific enough that engineers and researchers still get something out of it. When a guide involves code or prompts, I give you the exact text to copy.
Can I read past editions first?
Yes. Everything is on the site: all writing, model reviews and the Roundup.