Altman: AI Won't Cause Job Apocalypse, 'Glad I Was Wrong'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman now doubts that artificial intelligence will cause a global job apocalypse. He had previously anticipated a greater reduction in office jobs after ChatGPT launched in 2022. What's interesting is he says he's "glad I was wrong" about the immediate impact on entry-level office positions. Altman notes that many professions still have a "human element" that AI finds hard to replace. He even tried using AI for his own Slack and email responses but went back to personal communication, saying, "We truly value interaction with people." However, some layoffs linked to AI are still happening. Oracle cut thousands of employees in April amid AI infrastructure spending, and Block CEO Jack Dorsey announced nearly 4,000 layoffs in February, partly due to a transition to an "AI-focused" structure. The bottom line is that the future labor market might be different from what many expected, with the human element playing a larger role than some initially thought.