OpenAI engineer admits it’s ‘deeply unfair’ that AI can ‘take away everyone’s jobs’

In a moment laden with irony, an OpenAI engineer said it was “deeply unfair” that he and his peers were building artificial intelligence (AI) models capable of decimating the job market, adding that he there is little chance of stopping this momentum.

With the rise of AI and the proliferation of rapidly evolving technologies, there are real concerns in the workplace that some roles will be redundant within a few years. These themes were prevalent when Microsoft conducted its annual 2023 Work Trends Index.

In the survey, just under half of the 31,000 respondents said they believed AI would impact their job security.

The issue was addressed in a resurfaced interview highlighted in recent days by The Atlantic, but those helping to reduce the need for human workers in some regions have apparently shrugged their shoulders as if powerless to do so. determine the direction of travel.

The comments were perhaps meant to sound emphatic, but the result is the strengthening of AI as an unstoppable force.

Why AI needs effective regulation

In the video, Brian Wu, an OpenAI engineer, said: “It’s deeply unfair that, you know, a group of people can just develop AI and take away everyone’s jobs, and in some sense there’s nothing you can do to stop them right now.”

In addition to acknowledging the situation and the role they played in it, Wu asked people to “Think about what to do in a world where work is obsolete.”

Is this the future? A society with a limited need for jobs and employment, and masses seeking other activities to find purpose and fulfillment? It might well be, to some extent.

Such a dystopian situation is not imminent, but it should draw attention to the need to safely regulate AI, ensuring its benefits are exploited, but not allowing its power to run unchecked and unrestrained. .

Wu seemed resigned but cautious about what should happen next. “I don’t know,” he said.

“Raise awareness, get governments to care, get others to care.” » Then a long pause. “Yeah. Or join us and take one of the few jobs left. I don’t know. It’s hard.

Image credit: Ideogram