OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has suggested that the types of jobs being eliminated or transformed by artificial intelligence (AI) may not be considered “real work” in the long run. During an interview with Rowan Cheung at OpenAI’s recent DevDay conference, Altman was asked about the possibility of AI destroying a billion knowledge-worker jobs before new ones are created. Altman used a thought experiment about a farmer from half a century ago. He said that a farmer “very likely would look at what you do and I do and say, ‘that’s not real work’.” Altman implied that this perspective makes him feel “a little less worried” about the job losses. The conversation was centred on the uncertainty of what new jobs AI will create in the coming decades, similar to how a farmer in the past could not have imagined the jobs created by the internet.

What Sam Altman said about the jobs that AI may take away

Altman took up the “farmer” analogy when asked about the possibility of a billion jobs being destroyed before new ones are realised.“The thing about that farmer,” Altman said, is not only that they wouldn’t believe you, however “they very likely would look at what you do and I do and say, ‘that’s not real work.’”Altman explained that this perspective makes him feel “a little less worried” but “more worried in some other ways.”He compared the nature of work across eras, noting that a farmer performs essential labour by producing food and sustaining life, which he called “real work.” He suggested that from a farmer’s perspective, many modern occupations might seem like “playing a game to fill your time” rather than a “real job.”Looking ahead, Altman added that “it’s very possible that if we could see those jobs of the future,” we might feel that “maybe our jobs were not as real as a farmer’s job, but it’s a lot more real than this game you’re playing to entertain yourself.”Altman’s main point seems to be that jobs evolve. So, people shouldn’t stress too much about losing their jobs to AI, because, as he suggests, even a farmer from the past may see today’s jobs as “fake.”But then again, future workers may see our jobs as more “real” than whatever they’ll be doing in the AI era. This suggests that Altman believes things will eventually work themselves out.“I’m so willing to bet on human drives being what they are,” Altman said. “And I think we’ll find plenty of things to do.”