In 30 seconds
Sam Altman argues that people may continue to be employed to direct computers for longer than some expected. He suggests that an unexpectedly large demand for software helps explain why; the brief clip offers a perspective rather than labor-market evidence.
- 1Work continuesAltman thinks people will continue to be employed to direct computers longer than some expected.
- 2Revising predictionsHe contrasts that view with confident predictions made six or twelve months earlier.
- 3Unmet software demandHe suggests the world wants more software than people realized, an interpretation rather than a demonstrated forecast.
Takeaways
- Altman expects people to keep working on getting computers to do useful things.
- He believes demand for software has been larger than many anticipated.
- The excerpt does not establish how employment or wages will change across the industry.
Read the edited text by chapter
People and computers
Altman considers continued demand for people who get computers to do things.
Sam Altman says that employing people to get computers to do things looks likely to continue for much longer than some observers had expected. In this short interview clip, he is describing his interpretation of a changing field, not presenting a quantified jobs forecast.
Earlier predictions
He recalls the confidence with which some predicted otherwise.
He recalls that people were very confident six or twelve months earlier that such work would no longer be needed. The exchange highlights how quickly expectations about AI and programming can change.
Demand for software
He suggests there is more demand for software than previously understood.
Altman's proposed lesson is that demand for software has been much larger than many people realized. More software work may coexist with changes in how it is done, but this excerpt does not establish the effects on the number of jobs, wages, or individual careers.
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