Sam Altman warns AI will erase entire job categories, but not without limits
The OpenAI CEO says customer service roles are already obsolete, while healthcare still needs human oversight.
In a recent conversation at the Federal Reserve’s Capital Framework for Large Banks Conference in Washington, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, offered a sobering forecast for the future of work. According to Altman, entire classes of jobs will disappear as artificial intelligence continues to evolve, starting with customer service.
“Some areas, again, I think are just, like, totally gone,” Altman said. “When you call customer support now, AI answers. It’s like a super-smart, capable person. No phone tree, no transfers. It does everything a human agent could do, and it doesn’t make mistakes”.
AI’s impact on healthcare: powerful but not infallible
Altman also addressed the growing role of AI in medical diagnostics, claiming that ChatGPT is already a better diagnostician than most doctors. However, he emphasized that human involvement remains essential:
“Maybe I’m a dinosaur here, but I really do not want to entrust my medical fate to ChatGPT with no human doctor in the loop”.
A future of uncertainty, and transformation
Despite these bold predictions, Altman cautioned against overconfidence:
“Nobody knows what happens next. This system is too complex, this technology is too new and impactful. It’s very hard to predict”.
He believes AI will also create new job categories, much like past technological revolutions. The key, he says, is to adapt and upskill, as roles evolve and tools become more powerful.
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