OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has downplayed fears of a widespread “jobs apocalypse” caused by artificial intelligence, despite mounting concerns over AI-driven job cuts across Australia’s tech sector.
Speaking at the Commonwealth Bank’s Accelerate AI event, Altman said the impact of AI on the workforce was proving “very different” to what many in the industry had predicted.
“The jobs picture is likely to be very different than we thought,” Altman told Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn in a virtual appearance at an AI event in Sydney hosted by the bank.
Comments come as Australia’s tech sector grapples with growing anxiety over AI-driven job losses.
Logistics software giant WiseTech Global recently announced plans to cut roughly one-third of its workforce as it increases the use of “agentic AI” systems capable of performing tasks autonomously.
WiseTech chief executive Zubin Appoo previously declared that the era of manually writing code as a core job function was ending, describing the company’s strategy as reducing human labour while expanding overall output through AI systems.
The company has since reportedly increased security at its Sydney headquarters after threats of violence were directed at executives amid internal backlash over the planned job cuts.
Altman acknowledged that earlier predictions about the rapid disappearance of entry-level white-collar jobs may not materialise in the way many expected, saying he was “delighted to be wrong” about some forecasts.
He says the industry still does not fully understand how AI will reshape employment, but argued companies had a responsibility to openly discuss the risks and uncertainty surrounding the technology.
Despite rapid advances in generative AI, Altman admitted the technology has yet to deliver the major productivity gains many businesses anticipated.
“The question is, where is the revenue? Where are the actual productivity gains?” he said.
The debate over AI’s economic impact has intensified globally as major corporations adopt automation tools while investors continue pouring billions into artificial intelligence infrastructure and development.
Industry leaders remain divided over how disruptive AI will ultimately become.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang previously criticised what he described as exaggerated warnings from some AI executives, while Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has warned the technology could eliminate large numbers of entry-level office jobs within years.
Australia’s biggest companies are increasingly experimenting with AI across customer service, coding and business operations, fuelling ongoing concerns about the future of white-collar work.
