Sam Altman revises earlier warnings, saying AI’s impact on white-collar jobs has been less severe than anticipated.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has retracted his prior warnings about AI triggering a global jobs crisis. In a recent interview, Altman acknowledged that AI’s disruption of entry-level white-collar roles has been far less extensive than he previously forecast, calling his earlier predictions overblown.
Altman had previously estimated AI could replace 30-40% of work tasks in the near future, aligning with concerns from other tech leaders like Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, who warned of potential double-digit employment declines. While some companies have replaced workers with AI, widespread job losses have yet to materialize.
The shift in tone comes as AI adoption accelerates, though its labor market impact remains uneven. Altman’s remarks suggest a tempering of expectations around AI-driven job displacement.