OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns AI could replace 40% of jobs: Is yours on the list?

The pace of artificial intelligence (AI) development is accelerating at a rate few anticipated. From transforming how we communicate to reshaping industries, the rise of AI is prompting questions that touch every worker: How much of what I do today could be done by a machine tomorrow? Sam Altman, Chief Executive Officer of OpenAI, has been cautious about predictions, yet his recent statements indicate the scale of change ahead, and who might be affected first.

A decade to superintelligence

Speaking at the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network in Berlin, where he received this year’s Axel Springer Award, Altman addressed the prospect of a “superintelligence,” an AI smarter than humans in all respects.


“I would certainly say by the end of this decade, so, by 2030, if we don’t have models that are extraordinarily capable and do things that we ourselves cannot do, I’d be very surprised,” he said. He described the rapid trajectory of AI development, noting that while GPT-5 can outperform humans in many tasks, it remains limited in others, a pattern likely to continue in the near future. “In another couple of years, it will become very plausible for AI to make, for example, scientific discoveries that humans cannot make on their own. To me, that’ll start to feel like something we could properly call superintelligence.”

The workplace in flux

Altman’s warnings extend beyond breakthroughs in AI research. On the question of employment, he emphasized that while entire job profiles may disappear over time, the more immediate shift will be in tasks within jobs. “I can easily imagine a world where 30-40% of the tasks that happen in the economy today get done by AI in the not very distant future,” he said.

Customer support roles, particularly those conducted over the phone or computer, are among the first likely casualties of automation. Speaking earlier this week on The Tucker Carlson Show, Altman said, “I’m confident that a lot of current customer support that happens over a phone or computer, those people will lose their jobs, and that’ll be better done by an AI.” Meanwhile, the future of programming remains uncertain. “A job that I feel way less certain about what the future looks like for is computer programmers. The meaning of being a computer programmer today is very different than it was two years ago. You’re able to use these AI tools to be hugely more productive.”

Altman framed the disruption as both a challenge and an opportunity. “The thing that I find useful is to think about the percentage of tasks, not the percentage of jobs. There will be many jobs where a lot of what it means to do that job change. AI can do things much better. It can free up people to do more and different things. There will, of course, be totally new jobs.”

A philosophy for the next generation

Becoming a father this year has shaped Altman’s perspective on education and adaptability. He emphasized the importance of lifelong learning and resilience. “The meta-skill of learning how to learn, of learning to adapt, learning to be resilient to a lot of change. Learning how to figure out what people want, how to make useful products and services for them, how to interact in the world,” he said.

He is optimistic about human ingenuity. “I’m so confident that people will still be the center of the story for each other. I’m also so confident that human desire for new stuff, desire to be useful to other people, desire to express our creativity, I think this is all limitless. Each new generation uses their creativity and new ideas and the tools the previous generation built for them to astonish us. And I’m sure my kids will do the same.”

Balancing fear and capability

Concerns about artificial intelligence treating humans as inconsequential, similar to how humans treat ants, have been raised by some researchers. Speaking on this, Altman reflected on the moral alignment of artificial general intelligence (AGI). “My co-founder, Ilya Sutskever, once said that he hoped that the way that an AGI would treat humanity or all AGIs would treat humanity is like a loving parent. And given the way you asked that question, it came to mind. I think it’s a particularly beautiful framing,” he said.

Altman further clarified: “Even if it has no intentionality, by asking it to do something, there could be side effects, consequences we don’t understand. And so it is very important that we align this tool to human values. But we get to align this tool to human values and I don’t think it’ll treat humans like ants. Let’s say that.”

Preparing for an AI-driven world

The message is clear: change is inevitable, but preparation is possible. Understanding which tasks can be automated, learning to adapt, and cultivating skills that complement AI will define the careers of tomorrow. Customer support may become largely automated, programming is evolving rapidly, and countless other tasks are on the brink of transformation. For workers, the pressing question is not whether AI will change work, but how to position themselves at the center of that change.

Altman’s caution and optimism together suggest that while AI could replace 40% of tasks across jobs, it also offers the tools for a new era of human productivity. As he observed, the coming years will challenge assumptions about work, skill, and creativity, but they will also reward those who embrace learning, adaptability, and ingenuity.
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