OpenAI’s leadership doesn’t share the alarmist view that artificial intelligence is on track to wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs, at least not in the short term.
Speaking at a live event hosted by The New York Times, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap responded directly to a recent claim made by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who predicted that up to 50% of junior office roles could vanish in the next few years. Lightcap said there’s no clear data supporting that scenario.
OpenAI, he explained, works with companies across nearly every sector. While those businesses are increasingly integrating AI into their workflows, he said they’re not replacing staff in large numbers. In fact, Lightcap argued that much of the fear around job loss misses where real friction is occurring. According to him, the employees who may be most vulnerable are not new hires, but longer-tenured staff who struggle to adapt to modern tools.
He emphasized that AI adoption is still unfolding gradually. So far, businesses are looking to augment their teams, not dismantle them.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, offered a slightly more complex view. He doesn’t believe Amodei’s timeline is realistic either, but he didn’t rule out meaningful disruption. Altman acknowledged that some roles will likely disappear and that, compared to earlier waves of innovation, this transition could move faster. But he pointed out that past technologies have generally created more jobs than they destroyed, and he expects a similar outcome with AI.
Altman suggested that younger workers, especially those already fluent in AI tools, may be better positioned for this shift than some expect. He also stressed that societal change tends to move more slowly than technology does. Even when powerful tools exist, companies and institutions often take years to adjust, something he sees as a stabilizing force.
Both leaders agreed that the anxiety around AI is valid, particularly for people whose roles feel uncertain. But they pushed back on the idea that the job market is already collapsing. They described today’s AI as transformative but not yet capable of sweeping away entire industries.
Lightcap also noted a broader trend: while some feared AI would shrink engineering teams, many businesses are now asking for more developers, not fewer. With AI boosting output, companies are scaling faster, sometimes needing more staff, not less, to keep up with demand.
Altman, for his part, called for empathy and preparation. He didn’t deny that change will be painful for some, but he remains optimistic about long-term outcomes. The challenge, as he sees it, is helping people move with the technology, not against it.
The conversation pointed to a more grounded reality than the one some AI critics or enthusiasts describe. For OpenAI’s top leadership, the tools may be evolving quickly, but the way humans and organizations absorb them is more gradual, and that, they say, makes all the difference.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Consumers Are Asking AI Chatbots About More Than Just Tech, New Data Shows
Speaking at a live event hosted by The New York Times, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap responded directly to a recent claim made by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who predicted that up to 50% of junior office roles could vanish in the next few years. Lightcap said there’s no clear data supporting that scenario.
OpenAI, he explained, works with companies across nearly every sector. While those businesses are increasingly integrating AI into their workflows, he said they’re not replacing staff in large numbers. In fact, Lightcap argued that much of the fear around job loss misses where real friction is occurring. According to him, the employees who may be most vulnerable are not new hires, but longer-tenured staff who struggle to adapt to modern tools.
He emphasized that AI adoption is still unfolding gradually. So far, businesses are looking to augment their teams, not dismantle them.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, offered a slightly more complex view. He doesn’t believe Amodei’s timeline is realistic either, but he didn’t rule out meaningful disruption. Altman acknowledged that some roles will likely disappear and that, compared to earlier waves of innovation, this transition could move faster. But he pointed out that past technologies have generally created more jobs than they destroyed, and he expects a similar outcome with AI.
Altman suggested that younger workers, especially those already fluent in AI tools, may be better positioned for this shift than some expect. He also stressed that societal change tends to move more slowly than technology does. Even when powerful tools exist, companies and institutions often take years to adjust, something he sees as a stabilizing force.
Both leaders agreed that the anxiety around AI is valid, particularly for people whose roles feel uncertain. But they pushed back on the idea that the job market is already collapsing. They described today’s AI as transformative but not yet capable of sweeping away entire industries.
Lightcap also noted a broader trend: while some feared AI would shrink engineering teams, many businesses are now asking for more developers, not fewer. With AI boosting output, companies are scaling faster, sometimes needing more staff, not less, to keep up with demand.
Altman, for his part, called for empathy and preparation. He didn’t deny that change will be painful for some, but he remains optimistic about long-term outcomes. The challenge, as he sees it, is helping people move with the technology, not against it.
The conversation pointed to a more grounded reality than the one some AI critics or enthusiasts describe. For OpenAI’s top leadership, the tools may be evolving quickly, but the way humans and organizations absorb them is more gradual, and that, they say, makes all the difference.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Consumers Are Asking AI Chatbots About More Than Just Tech, New Data Shows
