Sam Altman Thinks AI Agents Are Coming for Your Job This Year

The next few years are likely to be transformative for AI, and, as a result, transformative for the job market we’re all trying to navigate. However, according to the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, things are moving at an incredible pace, which means that the first AI agents could join the workforce in 2025. And that could be disastrous for some.

OpenAI focuses on superintelligence on ChatGPT

OpenAI has led the charge for generative AI in recent years. With ChatGPT being the name that is shared in the mainstream consciousness, in the same way that Google has become synonymous with search. However, OpenAI is keen to move beyond its current products and focus instead on “superintelligence”.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, explained his personal vision for where the company will go next a blog post simply titled “Reflections”. In it, he reflects on the last few years before looking forward to what comes next.

The big takeaway is that Altman believes that OpenAI now knows “how to build AGI” (artificial general intelligence). And the company believes that “in 2025, we can see the first AI agents join the workforce and materially change the production of companies.” He goes on to say:

We love our current products, but we are here for the glorious future. With superintelligence, we can do something else. Superintelligent tools could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation far beyond what we are capable of doing on our own, and in turn massively increase abundance and prosperity.

All this links OpenAI plans to become a for-profit companywith its non-profit division pushed to one side. The company plans to look far beyond ChatGPT and start building artificial general intelligence. And OpenAI clearly considers it not feasible as a profit.

Everything changes when AI agents enter the workforce

Artificial intelligence has already disrupted some job markets, including my own. While many people think that manual jobs like driving will be the first to be affected, the creative arts have been negatively affected by the rise of generative AI.

Now, as predicted by Altman and his cohorts at OpenAI, Artificial intelligence is likely to disrupt people’s work even more. And possibly as soon as this year. That will be good news for some, and bad news for others.

Ultimately, artificial intelligence could usher in a better future for humanity. With AI doing all the jobs humans don’t want to do, giving us more freedom than ever before. However, it is not just an optimistic point of view, to get from here to there means traveling a very bumpy road with many casualties along the way.