OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said AI will boost productivity but won’t lead to a widespread four-day workweek because people always find additional tasks to do.
Speaking to Ti Morse on his “Relentless” podcast on Saturday, Altman said AI is unlikely to bring shorter workweeks, arguing that despite technology’s long-standing promise of more leisure time, people continue to find new ways to work and stay productive.
Altman said technology has improved quality of life and given people more leisure time over the years. Still, it has never delivered the long-promised mass shift to drastically shorter workweeks. “And I don’t expect AI to change that,” he said.
The CEO said people constantly raise their ambitions and compare themselves with others, so higher productivity leads to new goals rather than less work.
“We always want more. We think of new things to do, to create for each other, to want for ourselves. It’s like a relative game,” Altman said.
He said that “competition drives the economy” and will continue to do so.
Altman’s Shift On AI Workweeks
Altman’s latest views on the four-day workweek are a sharp contrast to his earlier stance. Sam Altman, in an open letter in April, urged companies to use AI-driven productivity gains to experiment with shorter workweeks without cutting pay, improve worker benefits, strengthen healthcare and retirement support, and turn efficiency into lasting time off.
Besides Altman, several industry leaders have advocated for an AI-led reduced workweek.
Former White House communications director and SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci believes AI will transform work by reducing workweeks to three or four days while maintaining productivity, rather than causing widespread job losses. He argues AI will give people more time for recreation, increase the value of human interaction, and create new careers centered on empathy, presence, and other uniquely human skills, including roles that may not resemble traditional jobs.
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon also said AI could eventually reduce the workweek to four, or even three-and-a-half days, over the next 30 to 40 years as productivity rises. Dimon also predicted AI could drive breakthroughs in healthcare, food safety and transportation, but warned that automation may displace some jobs, urging companies and governments to invest in reskilling and education reforms.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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