OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is backing away from one of the most alarming predictions he helped popularize about artificial intelligence: the idea that AI would wipe out huge swaths of jobs.
Speaking during a virtual appearance at a Commonwealth Bank of Australia conference, Altman admitted he expected AI to have already caused more serious damage to entry-level white-collar employment. Instead, he now says the “jobs apocalypse” many feared likely isn’t coming—at least not in the way he once imagined. “I thought there would have been more impact on entry-level white-collar jobs being eliminated by now than has actually happened,” Altman said, per TIME. “I’m delighted to be wrong.”
But in his latest comments, Altman suggested he underestimated how important human interaction remains inside workplaces. “We really do care about our interactions with people,” he said, explaining that the social and collaborative side of work appears harder to automate than many in Silicon Valley originally believed.
OpenAI is currently racing to justify enormous growth expectations as investors continue pouring money into AI companies. According to reports cited by TIME, OpenAI is aiming for $280 billion in revenue by 2030, while competitors like Anthropic and companies connected to Elon Musk are also chasing massive valuations.
At the same time, concerns over AI costs are growing louder. Executives at companies including Uber, Microsoft, and Nvidia have recently acknowledged that AI infrastructure and compute costs are becoming difficult to manage.
Nvidia’s Bryan Catanzaro reportedly said computing expenses on his team already exceed labor costs, while Microsoft has allegedly started limiting some employee access to outside AI tools because of cost concerns.
Not everyone in AI agrees with Altman’s softer stance. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has continued warning that up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs could disappear within five years.
Meanwhile, major corporations, including Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet (the parent company of Google), have all announced layoffs while increasing AI investments.
Research from Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that nearly 50,000 job cuts through April were tied in some way to AI spending or automation initiatives.
Altman’s changing tone also arrives during a turbulent stretch, personally and professionally. In recent months, his San Francisco home was targeted in multiple attacks, including a Molotov cocktail incident and a separate reported shooting investigation.
