OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated on Tuesday that the rapid development and application of artificial intelligence (AI) will not result in a global 'employment apocalypse.' According to Jin10, Altman noted that AI has not displaced a significant number of white-collar jobs as he had previously feared. He mentioned that while OpenAI's predictions about the technological advancements were largely accurate when ChatGPT was launched in 2022, their assessments of the social and economic impacts were 'quite wrong.'
Altman expressed relief over his misjudgment, saying, 'I am glad to have been wrong about this. I initially thought that the elimination of junior white-collar positions would be more severe by now. I now have a better understanding of why this hasn't happened, and I am obviously grateful for it.'
Despite the increasing number of global companies announcing that some internal positions are being replaced by AI, Altman acknowledged that there remains an irreplaceable 'human element' in employment. He emphasized that many jobs require interpersonal interactions that AI cannot substitute.