Worried about AI taking your job? Don't worry, Sam Altman says some disappearing roles were never ‘real work’ to begin with (www.techradar.com)

At OpenAI’s DevDay, CEO Sam Altman sparked controversy by saying a farmer from 50 years ago would look at many modern jobs and declare them “not real work,” arguing AI will mostly remove repetitive, low‑value tasks and that plenty of new things to do will emerge. Critics accused him of dismissing the livelihoods of workers most at risk of automation, while supporters noted he was echoing a long‑running debate (David Graeber’s “bullshit jobs”) that much contemporary employment centers on bureaucratic, routine tasks. The comments reignited conversations about who benefits from automation and whether feelings of job futility stem from task design or poor management. For the AI/ML community the exchange highlights practical and ethical stakes: AI systems are currently best at automating repetitive, routine cognitive and bureaucratic workflows rather than wholesale replacing complex professions, so impact will be granular—task displacement, not always entire occupations. That means technical work should focus on reliable task identification, human‑AI workflow design, fairness and reskilling tools, and robust measures of economic and social impact. Clear communication and policy engagement are also essential to avoid alienating affected workers and to guide equitable transitions as models continue improving.