Consequences of AI on Employment: Insights from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, recently broached the subject of potential job displacement stemming from the rise of artificial intelligence chatbots, such as ChatGPT. While Altman candidly acknowledged the inherent uncertainty in forecasting job trends, he expressed a level of confidence regarding certain professions that may be adversely impacted by AI, while suggesting that others might exhibit resilience against such technological advancements.
Insights Shared on “The Tucker Carlson Show”
During his appearance on “The Tucker Carlson Show,” Altman underscored the speculative nature of predicting the future. He stated, “I’ll caveat this with the obvious but important statement that no one can predict the future. If I try to answer that precisely, I will say a lot of dumb things, but I’ll try to pick an area that I’m confident about and then areas that I’m much less confident about.”
Job Losses in Customer Support
Altman expressed a strong belief that roles in customer support that currently rely on human interaction through phone or computer interfaces are likely to be supplanted by AI systems. “I’m confident that a lot of current customer support… will be better done by an AI,” he asserted, while acknowledging that certain types of customer support may still necessitate a personal touch.
The Future of Computer Programming
Uncertainty Surrounding Programmers’ Job Security
Turning his attention to the realm of computer programming, Altman conveyed his ambivalence about future employment prospects within this sector. He highlighted the emergence of AI solutions that empower individuals without coding expertise to create websites or games using natural language prompts, igniting substantial anxiety about the trajectory of programming careers.
“A job that I feel way less certain about what the future looks like for is computer programmers,” he cautioned. “What it means to be a computer programmer today is very different than what it meant two years ago. You’re able to use these AI tools to just be hugely more productive.”
He remarked on the paradox of heightened demand for software, stating, “It turns out that the world wanted so much more software than the world previously had the capacity to create, that there’s just incredible demand overhang. But if we fast forward another 5 or 10 years, what does that look like? Are there more jobs or fewer? That one I’m uncertain on.”
Occupations Likely to Remain Untouched by AI
In contrast to the potential upheaval in technical fields, Altman provided the example of nursing, a profession he believes will remain largely unaffected by the encroachment of AI due to the necessity for profound human connection.
He articulated, “A job that I’m confident will not be that impacted is like nurses. I think people really want the deep human connection with a person… No matter how good the advice of the AI is, or the robot, or whatever. You’ll really want that.”
Human Empathy in Healthcare
Altman’s observations echo sentiments previously expressed by DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, who posited that while AI might one day assume some responsibilities of physicians, there remains a critical distinction for nursing roles.
“You know, I sometimes give this example of doctors and nurses. Maybe a doctor and what the doctor does and the diagnosis, one could imagine being helped by an AI tool or even having an AI kind of doctor. On the other hand, like nursing, you know, I don’t think you’d want a robot to do that. I think there’s something about the human empathy aspect of that and the care that’s particularly humanistic,” Hassabis remarked.
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