TLDR:

Key points:

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes that AI’s impact on the economy is a major concern that is not being taken seriously enough.
• Research suggests that AI has the potential to automate a significant number of jobs, leading to lower wages and a need for workers to switch careers.

Sam Altman expressed his concerns about AI’s impact on the economy during a panel at the Brookings Institute. He believes that the speed and magnitude of socioeconomic changes brought about by AI could have significant and wide-reaching impacts. Altman noted that discussions around AI’s effect on the economy have died down this year compared to last, which worries him as he fears that people may not be taking these concerns seriously enough.

New research, including a study by the International Monetary Fund, has shown that AI may impact around 60% of jobs in advanced economies, with potentially half of those jobs being automatable. This could lead to less hiring and lower wages, with nearly 12 million US workers needing to switch jobs by 2030 according to a separate McKinsey study.

While some are optimistic about AI’s potential to boost productivity and create new opportunities for workers, Altman remains concerned about the impact on the labor market. He has previously expressed fear about AI technologies like ChatGPT eliminating jobs and believes that this issue needs to be taken more seriously.