Source: Fortune
Summary
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei are walking back their previous warnings about AI gutting white-collar employment. Altman said he was “pretty wrong” about AI’s economic impact, while Amodei now believes automation may expand the work people do. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has consistently argued that the panic was overblown, citing American economic history as evidence. The CEOs’ comments come as their companies prepare for IPOs, each with an estimated valuation of $1 trillion.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story.
Altman and Amodei’s reversals on AI’s job impact come as their companies prepare for massive IPOs. Solomon’s consistent skepticism of the AI job apocalypse now looks vindicated. The data offers a mixed picture, with tech layoffs passing 115,000 in 2026, but no significant changes in occupational mix or unemployment duration in high-AI-exposure jobs. The CEOs’ comments reflect a growing consensus that AI could boost labor, with automation increasing demand for certain roles.
It’s a familiar pattern: executives hype a trend, then quietly walk it back when the data doesn’t cooperate.
Author: Evan Null
