Speaking to German newspaper, Die Welt, Altman explained: “I would certainly say that by the end of this decade, by 2030, if we don’t have extraordinarily capable models that do things that we ourselves cannot do, I’d be very surprised.”
Additionally, he added that the company’s latest model already outperforms him intellectually, and he sees the tool emerging as early as 2026, claiming it could be “quite surprising,” with its progress.
“I can easily imagine a world where 30% to 40% of the tasks that happen in the economy today get done by AI in the not very distant future,” he said.
However, Altman stressed that no matter how powerful technology becomes, people will continue to care deeply about human actions and desires.
“I think these qualities will be increasingly important in the world of AI,” he concluded.
“We’ll have an incredible tool at our disposal, but we still have to figure out what to do, what other people want, and what other people will find useful.”
The comments come as, according to several sources, over 250,000 workers in tech have been affected by layoffs since January 2025, with companies ranging from hyperscalers to telecom operators adjusting their headcount.
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