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- The rise of generative AI technology could have productivity benefits for many workers.
- But OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says some jobs are "definitely going to go away."
- New jobs could be created in their place, but not all displaced workers will benefit.
Generative AI technology like ChatGPT could boost productivity for many workers in the years ahead. But some Americans are likely to lose their jobs in the process.
That's according to Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Altman has said AI's development could provide the "most tremendous leap forward" for people's quality of life. But he's also said it'd be "crazy not to be a little afraid of AI" and its potential to create "disinformation problems or economic shocks."
In a new interview with The Atlantic, Altman pushed back on the idea that the AI boom will only have a positive impact on workers.
"A lot of people working on AI pretend that it's only going to be good; it's only going to be a supplement; no one is ever going to be replaced," he said. "Jobs are definitely going to go away, full stop."
Since ChatGPT rolled out last November, experts have spoken about the ways AI could serve as a valuable assistant to workers — helping them become more productive and spend less time on boring tasks. Some experts have expressed optimism that AI won't result in the widespread job displacement many Americans fear and that instead, they should be more worried about their co-workers using these technologies to supplant them.
"You will not be replaced by AI but by someone who knows what to do with AI," Oded Netzer, a Columbia Business School professor, previously told Insider.
But Altman's comments speak to the harsh reality: Even if most jobs aren't displaced, some are likely to go by the wayside. In March, Goldman Sachs forecasted that 300 million full-time jobs across the globe could be disrupted — not necessarily replaced — by AI.
"History tells us that simplification is often merely a step towards automation," Carl Benedikt Frey, an Oxford economist, previously told Insider. "AI assistants that analyze telemarketers' calls and provide recommendations are being trained with the ultimate goal of replacing them."
The widespread adoption of AI could also create new jobs, however. Altman told The Atlantic that he expects better — perhaps higher-paying jobs — will be created in place of the ones that are disrupted.
"I don't think we'll want to go back," he said.
The question, however, is whether displaced workers will be able to navigate their way to these new gigs.
Ethan Mollick, an associate professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, pointed to the late-19th century automation of telephone operators — then a common profession for women — as an example of workers struggling to adapt to technological change.
"When you got rid of operators, then basically young women were able to adjust, find new jobs and were able to adapt," he said. "But older women took a lifelong hit to wages — were never able to find as good a job again."