“I don’t know the exact percentage, but there are definitely companies that are blaming layoffs on AI. At the same time, there are real cases where jobs are genuinely being displaced by AI,” the entrepreneur said.

In his view, the impact of automation on the labor market will only continue to grow over time.

Altman emphasized that in the era of large language models (LLMs), new types of employment will emerge, and the “real impact of the technology on how work gets done” will become noticeable over the next few years.

Previously, Amazon, IBM, Salesforce, and HP had also mentioned workforce optimization linked to the adoption of neural networks.

Back in September, the OpenAI chief predicted significant layoffs in customer support roles. However, professions that require direct personal interaction (such as nursing) are expected to be minimally affected. For programmers, AI will act as a tool that can dramatically boost productivity and, as a result, income levels.

As for the next 5–10 years, the OpenAI CEO is uncertain about how the total number of jobs will change. He believes that the displacement of certain professions could lead to the creation of entirely new ones.

“I recently heard that half of all jobs don’t disappear but instead transform roughly every 75 years. It’s essentially a kind of half-life. […] I can easily imagine a world where, in 75 years, half of people are doing something completely new, while the rest are doing work that only partially resembles today’s professions,” he said.

The price of competition

Altman and his competitor, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, found themselves in an awkward situation when they did not hold hands during a group photo of political and technology leaders at the India AI Impact Summit. The image quickly spread online.

Source: CNBC.
Source: CNBC.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and other participants held hands, while Altman and Amodei raised their fists instead.

The two companies had recently exchanged “jabs” over the potential use of advertising in AI models.

During the Super Bowl, Anthropic mocked OpenAI in a series of ads, highlighting the integration of advertising into the ChatGPT chatbot.

Altman called the videos misleading and described the marketing approach as “very much in Anthropic’s style.”

OpenAI valuation may reach $850 billion

According to Bloomberg, OpenAI is close to raising more than $100 billion at a valuation of $850 billion. Initial funding rounds are expected to include:

  • Amazon — reportedly discussing an investment of up to $50 billion;
  • SoftBank — preparing to invest $30 billion;
  • Nvidia — potentially around $20 billion;
  • Microsoft.

Venture capital and sovereign wealth funds are expected to join later, increasing the total amount raised.

CNBC, however, reports slightly different figures. According to its sources, Nvidia is ready to invest up to $30 billion, but at a valuation of $730 billion. The potential deal is not related to the $100 billion infrastructure agreement announced by the parties in September.