OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, has been fairly transparent about the transformative, and potentially perilous, implications of his creation, the AI chatbot ChatGPT. Despite its impressive evolution since its November 2022 launch, Altman has often expressed concerns over the tool’s limitations and the necessity for its regulation. His recent trip to India brought these concerns to the fore again, where he reiterated his belief that ChatGPT and other AI technologies could significantly disrupt job markets.
There’s a growing consensus among both the general public and tech pundits that advanced AI tools like ChatGPT could potentially usurp humans in their professional roles. While some view this prospect with trepidation, others believe that AI would primarily assist humans, making their jobs easier rather than replacing them outright. However, Altman has made his stance clear: AI is set to bring about considerable job displacement.
In a candid interview with The Atlantic, Altman contended that the consequences of AI’s pervasive influence on society won’t necessarily all be beneficial. Although many in the AI field like to posit a rosier picture of AI complementing human labor, Altman countered this narrative. “Jobs are definitely going to go away, full stop,” he pronounced.
Altman also suggested that OpenAI could have developed an AI even more formidable than ChatGPT, had they continued to work on it for another five years. Yet, he reflected that the public would not have been adequately prepared for the repercussions of such a significant technological leap. He portrayed the hypothetical outcome of such an endeavor as “unpleasant” to contemplate.
According to the report in The Atlantic, Altman emphasized the need for a period of acclimatization. Society needs time to grapple with the concept of sharing the world with powerful, advanced AI systems, and the introduction of ChatGPT is seen as a means of heralding this new era.
During his visit to India in June, Altman expanded on these themes, emphasizing AI’s potential to disrupt job markets. In a discussion with the Economic Times, Altman admitted that while AI will indeed eliminate some jobs, it will also create new ones. He asserted, “Every tech revolution leads to job change… Some jobs are going to go away. There will be new, better jobs that are difficult to imagine today.”
Altman also expressed his admiration for India’s proactive engagement with AI technology during an interview with Business Today. He shared OpenAI’s intention to foster AI startups within the country. Additionally, he voiced his opinion on the importance of regulating AI, stressing the need to ensure such regulation doesn’t stifle crucial innovation.
