Sam Altman admits that AI is unlikely to completely replace labor

Speaking online at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) conference on May 26, OpenAI CEO said the rapid development and adoption of AI will not lead to a ‘jobs disaster’ on a global scale. Sam Altman admits that this technology has not taken away as many office jobs as he previously feared.

According to the head of OpenAI, he and his colleagues were “almost right” about their predictions of technological progress when launching ChatGPT in 2022. However, they were wrong about the short-term economic and social implications. Sam Altman admits “I’m glad I was wrong about this. I thought more low-level office positions would be eliminated at the moment than what’s actually happening. My intuition on this front was incorrect.”

OpenAI CEO explains that the ’employment disaster’ has not yet happened because he realizes that the “human factor” in labor is still something that cannot be replaced. Altman himself once tested using AI to automatically reply to his emails and Slack messages in the name of Sam’s AI. However, he later had to return to reflect on these matters himself. “That experience helped me understand that we really care about human interactions. Responding to messages takes up most of my time, but I don’t think I can completely entrust it to AI in the near future,” he said.

Despite Sam Altman’s optimistic statements, the perspective of technology and market data experts is not so optimistic. Many businesses recorded a staff reduction rate of up to 17%. This number, although lower than extreme forecasts two years ago, still matches OpenAI’s own internal research on the impact of AI on the labor market.

Analysts say that it is easy to compare the current wave of AI with the robot revolution in the auto manufacturing industry decades ago. Robots once helped car manufacturers optimize production costs but have taken away job opportunities for millions of welding, painting and assembly workers.

Economic experts say that Altman’s statements mean nothing to those who have been directly affected. The current market is in dire need of completely independent surveys from third-party organizations to properly assess the extent of AI’s damage to global jobs. Because any reports from technology companies with interests directly related to AI are difficult to ensure objectivity.

While waiting for independent research data, which takes a long time, the wave of machine optimization using chatbots and AI agents is still quietly taking place, threatening the jobs of hundreds of thousands of workers around the world.

In parallel with statements about the labor market, international sources said that OpenAI is actively preparing to file security documents for an initial public offering in the US in the next few weeks.

The company expects to reach a record valuation of up to 1,000 billion USD and aims to raise at least 60 billion USD in this deal. Sam Altman’s attempt to calm the wave of concerns about a jobs disaster is considered by observers to be a strategic step to reduce pressure from trade unions and the government ahead of the historic IPO.