--- title: "Sam Altman Says OpenAI Is Poised to Wipe Out Entire Categories of Human Jobs" description: "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is warning that entire job categories could be wiped out by artificial intelligence." date: "2025-07-26" modified: "2025-07-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/sam-altman-openai-wipe-out-categories-human-jobs" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "customer service" - "generative ai" - "OpenAI" - "sam altman" --- # Sam Altman Says OpenAI Is Poised to Wipe Out Entire Categories of Human Jobs ![OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is warning that entire job categories could be wiped out by artificial intelligence.]() *\Image: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images\* OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is warning that [entire job categories could be wiped out]() by artificial intelligence, echoing widespread concerns that the technology could have devastating effects on the human labor market. During his most recent trip to Washington, DC, Altman told Federal Reserve vice-chair for supervision Michelle Bowman that "some areas" in the job market will be "just like totally, totally gone" as they're replaced by AI agents. Altman identified customer support roles as a "category where I just say, you know what, when you call customer support, you’re on target and AI, and that’s fine." "Now you call one of these things and AI answers," he said. "It’s like a super-smart, capable person. There’s no phone tree, there’s no transfers. It can do everything that any customer support agent at that company could do." The billionaire, who's unlikely to have had to personally speak to a customer support agent on the phone in quite some time, effectively threw humans under the bus during the remarks. "It does not make mistakes," he added. "It’s very quick. You call once, the thing just happens, it’s done." How close OpenAI's tech actually is to that goal is questionable. Critics say that AI tends to replace human labor with an alternative that's unreliable and prone to unexpected edge cases. There are also practical considerations: we've already seen companies [getting huge amounts of negative attention]() for attempting to ditch human workers in favor of unproven AI. It's gotten to the point where companies are admitting that they're going back on their promises to ditch human workers. Fintech company Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, who previously [boasted]() that an AI assistant would do the job of 700 people, ended up [reversing course](), announcing that "from a brand perspective... I just think it’s so critical that you are clear to your customer that there will always be a human if you want." A study [found last year]() that the majority of customers do not want companies to use AI for customer service. And who could blame them? Glaring problems plaguing currently available AI models mean the tech is causing chaos and frustration. Earlier this year, for instance, a customer found that they were [getting mysteriously logged out]() by AI-powered software coding assistant, Cusor. An AI-powered customer support agent told them it was "expected behavior" under a new login policy — which turned out to be a hallucination by the glitchy AI. In short, Altman's imagining a future that doesn't exist yet, and may or may not actually materialize. But it's one he wants to see: as the leader of one of the most successful AI companies in the industry, he has plenty to gain. **More on Altman:** *[Behind the Scenes, Sam Altman Is Absolutely Furious]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()