Asger Risom
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he no longer believes artificial intelligence will trigger the massive “jobs apocalypse” he once predicted, admitting he underestimated how important human interaction remains in the workplace.
For years, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman warned that artificial intelligence could eliminate huge numbers of jobs and permanently reshape the labor market.
Now, one of the most influential figures in the AI industry says those predictions may have gone too far.
Change of tone
Speaking during a virtual appearance at a Commonwealth Bank of Australia conference in Sydney, Altman said he no longer expects the kind of mass employment collapse that many in the tech industry once feared.
“I don’t think we’re going to have the kind of jobs apocalypse that some of the companies in our space advocate or talk about,” Altman said.
The OpenAI CEO acknowledged that he expected entry-level white-collar positions to be hit much faster by automation than they actually have been.
“I thought there would have been more impact on entry-level white-collar jobs being eliminated by now than has actually happened,” he said.
Human factor
Altman said his thinking shifted after recognizing that many workplaces still depend heavily on human interaction and collaboration.
“We really do care about our interactions with people,” he added, saying this realization “updated me to thinking that the jobs picture is likely to be very different than we thought.”
The remarks mark a notable change from some of Altman’s earlier warnings, where he predicted AI would “probably replace most of the jobs people do today” and make entire professions disappear.
His comments also arrive as AI companies face growing pressure to justify enormous spending on the technology.
Cracks emerging
Several major firms have recently raised concerns about the costs and practical value of AI adoption.
According to TIME, Uber President Andrew Macdonald said it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify AI-related expenses, while Nvidia executive Bryan Catanzaro argued that AI systems can sometimes cost more than the employees they are meant to replace.
Microsoft has also reportedly begun restricting some internal use of Anthropic’s Claude AI tools because of high operating costs.
At the same time, economists say AI adoption has been slower and more uneven than many early forecasts predicted.
Industry divided
A recent Brookings report found that rapid advances in AI capabilities have not yet translated into widespread economic transformation or major labor market disruption.
Research from the Yale Budget Lab similarly concluded there had not been a significant rise in unemployment among workers in jobs highly exposed to AI through early 2026.
But not everyone in the industry shares Altman’s revised outlook.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned earlier this year that as many as half of entry-level white-collar jobs could disappear within five years.
Meanwhile, major companies including Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Intuit have continued announcing layoffs while increasing investment in artificial intelligence.
Sources: TIME, Brookings Institution, Yale Budget Lab, Axios
