AI and Work: Sam Altman Revisits the "Employment Apocalypse" and Admits He Was Wrong

At the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) Asia-Pacific Conference, Sam Altman admitted that his prediction of an apocalypse for entry-level white-collar workers did not occur. The creator of ChatGPT admits even that there remains a « human part » in some activities, while denouncing the « AI whitewashing » carried out by some companies.

Finally, there is no apocalypse of entry-level white-collar workers

After proclaiming a « job apocalypse », Sam Altman, the leader of OpenAI, now nuances his statements and even confesses « having been wrong » on certain points. In recent years, the creator of ChatGPT has notably announced the end of traditional professional skills and an « apocalypse » of entry-level white-collar workers. Regarding this last point, Sam Altman says he's happy to have been wrong and clarifies: « I thought we would already see more job cuts among entry-level white-collar workers than is actually the case »

Sam Altman also proclaimed the simple end of customer service before now conceding that there remains an important « human part ». To illustrate his point, he explains having temporarily automated his responses using AI on the instant messaging platform Slack, before going back and writing his messages again himself. The creator of ChatGPT now speaks of an important sectoral restructuring, but without a generalized workforce collapse. As a reminder, last April, OpenAI advocated a 32-hour workweek system of work and the creation of a national public wealth fund partly funded by companies specializing in AI.

This shift in discourse actually corresponds to a shared finding by several studies. According to the latest data from the Yale Budget Lab and the Brookings Institution, the massive integration of AI has not led to any major upheaval in the US job market early in 2026. Despite significant technological exposure, no significant impact has been recorded on the structure of professions or the duration of unemployment, ruling out, at least for now, the scenario of a total social crisis. In all cases, the discourse regarding AI in the job market alternates between apocalypse announcements and false alarms. Similarly, the automation of tasks by AI, announced as devastating for the job market, does not always proceed without hiccups. In this regard, Microsoft canceled most of its Claude Code licenses four months after strongly encouraging its developers to use daily the agent AI tools from Anthropic.

Sam Altman denounces the « AI whitewashing »

Sam Altman raises another point: the « AI whitewashing » carried out by some companies. In other words, companies have massively laid off in the name of AI, while the real reasons for these layoffs were elsewhere. Some companies would have notably sought to mask post-Covid management errors and a deficit financial situation by invoking AI-driven task automation. Layoff plans that implicitly translate to: « We are not responsible for these layoffs, it's the AI's fault! ». Furthermore, laying off in the name of AI can allow a company to present itself as visionary, at the forefront of technology. Moreover, this type of announcement tends to drive up the price of the stock price and excite investors. In other words: the company announcing a layoff plan in the name of AI no longer has to pay as many employees, its profits will therefore explode. As an example, Block's stock jumped by over 24% on the stock market after announcing the layoff of 4,000 employees in the name of AI, which is 40% of its workforce. This is added to a significant buzz, the announcement of a layoff plan in the name of AI often being massively relayed. 👉🏻 Follow tech news in real time: add 01net to your Google sources, and subscribe to our WhatsApp channel.

Source : Reuters