Sam Altman Says AI Jobs Apocalypse Unlikely After Earlier Warnings

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Tuesday that he no longer anticipates a “jobs apocalypse” from artificial intelligence, reversing earlier forecasts that entire job categories would disappear. Speaking virtually at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia conference in Sydney, Altman told host Matt Comyn that fewer entry-level white-collar positions have been eliminated than he expected.

“I’m delighted to be wrong about this,” he said.

Altman attributed the slower impact to the value people place on human interaction at work. “We really do care about our interactions with people,” he stated, adding that this realization updated his view of future employment patterns. He noted that OpenAI executives had been accurate on technological progress but less so on social and economic consequences.

The company, he said, prefers to discuss potential changes openly even when predictions prove incorrect.

Altman’s revised assessment comes as OpenAI prepares to file for a confidential IPO targeting a $1 trillion valuation. The firm aims to reach $280 billion in annual revenue by 2030. Other AI companies are also pursuing large funding rounds. 5 trillion IPO valuation.

Altman’s comments, several technology firms have cited AI investment when announcing workforce reductions. Meta eliminated roughly 8,000 roles in May, Intuit cut 3,000 positions, and Amazon and Alphabet conducted additional layoffs. Research by Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that AI was referenced in nearly 50,000 job cuts through April 2026.

Economists at Brookings and the Yale Budget Lab reported that rapid capability gains have not yet produced broad labor-market displacement.

““I don’t think we’re going to have the kind of jobs apocalypse that some of the companies in our space advocate or talk about.”