At OpenAI’s recent Dev Day conference, CEO Sam Altman made a statement that’s got everyone talking: people losing their jobs to AI may not have been doing “real work” in the first place. In a chat with tech creator Rowan Cheung, Altman was asked about the fear that artificial intelligence could wipe out nearly a billion knowledge-worker jobs before new ones appear. His response? A thought experiment that takes us back in time. The farmer analogy: “That’s not real work” Altman compared the situation to how a farmer from 50 years ago might see today’s desk jobs. Altman said: That farmer would probably look at what you and I do and say, ‘That’s not real work. He explained that for someone who labours daily to grow food and sustain life, sitting in front of a computer might look meaningless, almost like playing a game. That’s why, he added, he feels “a little less worried” about AI replacing today’s jobs. Just as the farmer couldn’t imagine the jobs created by the internet, we might not yet understand what kind of new work the AI era will bring. Are our jobs really ‘real’ Altman pointed out that every era redefines what work means. What was once considered essential, like farming, evolved into something else with industrialisation and technology. He said that future generations might look at our current jobs and think they were more “real” than whatever they’ll be doing in the AI age. Altman said: Maybe our jobs were not as real as a farmer’s job, but it’s a lot more real than this game you’re playing to entertain yourself. Work will keep evolving Altman’s larger message is one of optimism. He believes humans have always adapted, from farming to factories to coding, and that AI will be no different. “I’m so willing to bet on human drives being what they are,” Altman said. “We’ll find plenty of things to do.” In other words, while AI might shake up the job market, it won’t stop people from finding new ways to create, build, and work.
