Sam Altman said on Tuesday that the fast growth of AI is unlikely to trigger a worldwide “jobs apocalypse,” adding that the technology has not replaced as many white-collar roles as he once expected. Speaking virtually at a conference hosted by Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, Altman admitted he had previously worried about AI’s effect on employment. While he believes OpenAI’s predictions about technological progress since the 2022 launch of ChatGPT were mostly accurate, he said the company misjudged the broader social and economic impact. Altman noted that he expected more entry-level office jobs to disappear by now, but that had not happened. He said his earlier concerns may have created unnecessary fear, though he still sees job disruption as a possible risk. Although several major companies, including HSBC, Amazon, Standard Chartered, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, have announced AI-related workforce changes, Altman believes human interaction remains difficult to replace. He shared that he once used AI to answer Slack and email messages under the label “Sam’s AI,” but later returned to responding personally. According to him, the experience highlighted how much people value genuine human connection. That realization, Altman said, changed his view of AI’s future impact on employment, making him less convinced that massive job losses are inevitable.

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