ChatGPT Creator Sam Altman Feels It's A 'Massive, Massive Issue' That We Don't Take AI's Threat To Jobs And Economy 'Seriously Enough'

by Rounak Jain Benzinga Editor

Zinger Key Points

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has joined Meta Platforms’ Mark Zuckerberg in warning about the threat of AI to jobs and the economy.
Altman thinks GPT-4 has lulled people into thinking AI is not a threat.
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OpenAI CEO and ChatGPT creator Sam Altman expressed his concerns about the potential economic upheaval that artificial intelligence (AI) can cause.

What Happened: Altman’s apprehensions stem from the potential job displacement and broader socioeconomic changes that AI could bring about.

During a panel on AI and geopolitics at the Brookings Institute, Altman highlighted the need for more serious discussions about AI’s impact on the economy.

"The thing I’m most worried about right now is, the sort of, the speed and magnitude of the socioeconomic change may have, and what the impacts on what that will be."

Altman noted a decline in discussions about AI’s economic impact, particularly in terms of potential job replacement. He expressed concerns about the consequences if these issues are not taken seriously.

Altman cited the lack of a noticeable economic impact from GPT-4, a language model powering ChatGPT, as a reason for the diminished concern.

"GPT-4 didn’t have this huge detectable impact on the economy, and so people were kind of like, “Oh well, we were too worried about that, and that’s not a problem."

He warned that failing to address these issues could have massive consequences.

"I have a fear that we just won’t take that one seriously enough going forward, and it’s a massive, massive issue."

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Why It Matters: Altman’s concerns echo those of other tech leaders and industry experts. Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also addressed this issue, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to AI and job displacement.

Recent studies have indicated that AI adoption in the workplace is increasing. However, employees have been found concealing their use of AI tools for fear of job replacement.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also warned that AI could impact up to 40% of global jobs, with advanced economies bearing the brunt of this impact.

Despite these concerns, some experts believe that the rate of transformation will be slower than expected, as it’s still not economically feasible for companies to replace employees with an AI system, as MIT researchers have found.

However, Altman’s recent comments suggest that the potential economic impact of AI remains a pressing issue.