Sam Altman Accuses Major Firms of Using AI as a Pretext for Layoffs

Sam Altman accuses firms of using AI as a pretext for layoffs.

Some companies are using artificial intelligence as a pretext for layoffs that would have occurred regardless. This statement was made by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a conversation with CNBC.

“I don’t know the exact percentage, but there are certain firms that attribute layoffs to artificial intelligence. There are also real cases of AI displacing jobs,” said the entrepreneur.

In his view, the impact of automation on the labour market will only increase over time.

Altman emphasized that in the era of LLM, new types of employment will emerge, and “the real impact of technology on job performance” will become significant in the coming years.

Previously, Amazon, IBM, Salesforce, and HP mentioned workforce optimization due to the implementation of neural networks.

In September, the head of OpenAI predicted the dismissal of many support staff. However, professions requiring personal contact (such as nursing) will be minimally affected by the technology. For programmers, artificial intelligence will become a tool that significantly boosts productivity and, consequently, income levels.

Regarding the next 5-10 years, the CEO of OpenAI is uncertain about how the number of jobs will change. He believes that the displacement of some professions could lead to the emergence of new ones.

“I recently heard that half of the jobs don’t disappear but rather transform every 75 years. It’s essentially a kind of half-life period.[…] I can easily imagine a world where in 75 years, half of the people will be doing something new, and the rest will be engaged in something that somewhat resembles today’s professions,” he stated.

The Price of Competition

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

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

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

Anthropic mocked OpenAI during the Super Bowl. In a series of videos, it highlighted the integration of advertising in the ChatGPT chatbot.

Altman called the videos misleading and described such a marketing approach as “typical of Anthropic.”

OpenAI Valued at $850 Billion

Bloomberg reported that OpenAI is close to raising over $100 billion at a valuation of $850 billion. The initial tranches will come from:

• Amazon — discussing investments up to $50 billion;
• SoftBank — preparing to invest $30 billion;
• Nvidia — considering an amount around $20 billion;
• Microsoft.

Venture and sovereign funds will join later, increasing the total amount raised.

However, CNBC has slightly different information. Journalists reported that Nvidia is ready to invest up to $30 billion, but at a valuation of $730 billion. The potential deal is not related to the infrastructure agreement worth $100 billion, announced by the parties in September.

In February, OpenAI launched advertising in ChatGPT for adult users of the basic Go plan and those without a paid subscription.