Open AI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday (May 26) said fears of an artificial intelligence-driven jobs collapse may have been overstated, admitting that his earlier predictions about large-scale losses of white-collar jobs have not unfolded as quickly as he once expected.&nbsp;Speaking at a conference organised by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, Altman reflected on how his views on AI’s impact on employment have changed since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022.&nbsp;“I’m delighted to be wrong about this,” Altman said. “I thought there would have been more impact on entry-level white-collar jobs being eliminated by now than has actually happened."&nbsp;Altman said he had initially believed AI systems would rapidly replace a large number of routine office roles. However, over time, he realised that people continue to value direct human interaction more than many in the technology sector had anticipated.

Sharing a personal example, Altman said he once experimented with using AI to handle replies to Slack and email messages under the tag “this is Sam’s AI.” He later returned to responding to some messages himself.&nbsp;“We really do care about people,” Altman said, adding that software still struggles to fully replicate human connection and communication.&nbsp;According to Altman, AI is more likely to reshape work rather than completely eliminate the need for humans. He said people would continue playing important roles in creativity, communication, judgment, and emotional understanding even as AI systems become more advanced.&nbsp;“I don’t think we’re going to have the kind of jobs apocalypse that some of the companies in our space advocate or talk about,” he said.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/patients-flee-treatment-as-hospitals-come-under-attack-amid-ebola-outbreak-and-rising-violence-in-dr-congo-1779794524383">Ebola patients flee treatment as hospitals come under attack amid rising violence in DR Congo</a>&nbsp;Altman’s comments mark a softer tone compared with some of his earlier warnings about AI’s effect on employment. In a 2023 interview with The Atlantic, he said “jobs are definitely going to go away” as businesses increasingly adopted AI technologies, though he argued that better jobs would eventually emerge. Last year, he also told a Federal Reserve conference that “entire classes” of jobs could disappear.&nbsp;His latest remarks come at a time when concerns over AI-led restructuring continue to grow across the global technology sector. Major companies have been increasing investments in AI infrastructure while simultaneously cutting jobs.&nbsp;According to layoff tracker TrueUp, more than 144,000 technology workers have lost their jobs globally so far in 2026. Among the biggest workforce reductions this year, Meta announced plans to cut around 8,000 jobs as part of its AI restructuring strategy, with additional layoffs expected later in the year.

Altman’s remarks mark a softer shift from his earlier warnings on AI and employment. He had previously said that jobs would disappear as AI adoption increased and later warned that “entire classes” of jobs could vanish.

Open AI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday (May 26) said fears of an artificial intelligence-driven jobs collapse may have been overstated, admitting that his earlier predictions about large-scale losses of white-collar jobs have not unfolded as quickly as he once expected. Speaking at a conference organised by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, Altman reflected on how his views on AI’s impact on employment have changed since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022. “I’m delighted to be wrong about this,” Altman said. “I thought there would have been more impact on entry-level white-collar jobs being eliminated by now than has actually happened." Altman said he had initially believed AI systems would rapidly replace a large number of routine office roles. However, over time, he realised that people continue to value direct human interaction more than many in the technology sector had anticipated.

Altman’s remarks mark a softer shift from his earlier warnings on AI and employment. He had previously said that jobs would disappear as AI adoption increased and later warned that “entire classes” of jobs could vanish.

‘Delighted to be wrong’: Sam Altman says AI may not trigger feared white-collar job apocalypse

A brief onstage moment between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei drew attention during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.&nbsp;During a group photograph with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other global technology leaders, several attendees were seen holding hands and raising them for the cameras. However, social media users quickly noticed that Altman and Amodei did not hold hands. Instead, both raised their fists separately, maintaining distance between them.&nbsp;The moment soon went viral, with many online speculating about tensions between the two AI leaders.&nbsp;Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood at the centre of the photograph. Google CEO Sundar Pichai stood on his right, while Altman stood on his left. Amodei was positioned next to Altman.&nbsp;<h2>Sam Altman Responds: ‘I Was Confused’</h2>Hours after the image spread online, Sam Altman said about the incident during a closed-door interaction with few reporters.&nbsp;“I was sort of confused and didn’t know what I was supposed to do,” Altman said. He explained that Prime Minister Modi had taken his hand and raised it, but he was unsure about the intended gesture for the photograph.&nbsp;Altman added, “Modi grabbed my hand and put it up, and I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to be doing.”&nbsp;As of now there was no comment from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on the incident.&nbsp;<h2>OpenAI and Anthropic Rivalry</h2>Sam Altman, 40, and Dario Amodei, 43, previously worked together at OpenAI until 2019. According to earlier reports, Amodei left OpenAI in 2020 along with several senior researchers following disagreements over the company’s direction. He later co-founded Anthropic with his sister Daniela Amodei.&nbsp;In 2023, when OpenAI’s board temporarily removed Altman as CEO, reports suggested that Amodei was approached as a possible replacement. He declined the offer. Altman was reinstated as CEO within days.&nbsp;Today, OpenAI and Anthropic are among the leading artificial intelligence firms globally. According to Bloomberg estimates cited in reports, OpenAI is valued at around $500 billion, while Anthropic is valued at approximately $380 billion.&nbsp;The rivalry has also played out publicly. Anthropic recently aired a high-profile Super Bowl advertisement that criticised the idea of intrusive AI advertising. The ad suggested that some AI companies might insert advertisements directly into chatbot responses.&nbsp;In response, Altman posted on X that he “laughed” at the ad but described it as “clearly dishonest.” He said OpenAI’s principle was not to insert ads directly into chatbot responses. He also claimed that “more Texans use ChatGPT for free than total people use Claude in the US.”&nbsp;<h2>India AI Impact Summit them brought together</h2>The India AI Impact Summit 2026 brought together global AI leaders, policymakers and industry executives to discuss artificial intelligence governance, infrastructure and innovation. With OpenAI and Anthropic both expanding globally, including in India, public appearances of their CEOs attract close attention.&nbsp;While the viral moment sparked speculation online, Altman’s clarification suggests there was no deliberate snub, but rather uncertainty during a coordinated stage gesture.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A viral moment at the India AI Impact Summit showed Sam Altman and Dario Amodei not holding hands during a group photo with PM Modi. Altman later said he was “confused” about the gesture. The clip sparked speculation amid OpenAI-Anthropic rivalry.


A brief onstage moment between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei drew attention during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi. During a group photograph with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other global technology leaders, several attendees were seen holding hands and raising them for the cameras. However, social media users quickly noticed that Altman and Amodei did not hold hands. Instead, both raised their fists separately, maintaining distance between them. The moment soon went viral, with many online speculating about tensions between the two AI leaders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood at the centre of the photograph. Google CEO Sundar Pichai stood on his right, while Altman stood on his left. Amodei was positioned next to Altman. Sam Altman Responds: ‘I Was Confused’ Hours after the image spread online, Sam Altman said about the incident during a closed-door interaction with few reporters. “I was sort of confused and didn’t know what I was supposed to do,” Altman said. He explained that Prime Minister Modi had taken his hand and raised it, but he was unsure about the intended gesture for the photograph. Altman added, “Modi grabbed my hand and put it up, and I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to be doing.” As of now there was no comment from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on the incident. OpenAI and Anthropic Rivalry Sam Altman, 40, and Dario Amodei, 43, previously worked together at OpenAI until 2019. According to earlier reports, Amodei left OpenAI in 2020 along with several senior researchers following disagreements over the company’s direction. He later co-founded Anthropic with his sister Daniela Amodei. In 2023, when OpenAI’s board temporarily removed Altman as CEO, reports suggested that Amodei was approached as a possible replacement. He declined the offer. Altman was reinstated as CEO within days. Today, OpenAI and Anthropic are among the leading artificial intelligence firms globally. According to Bloomberg estimates cited in reports, OpenAI is valued at around $500 billion, while Anthropic is valued at approximately $380 billion. The rivalry has also played out publicly. Anthropic recently aired a high-profile Super Bowl advertisement that criticised the idea of intrusive AI advertising. The ad suggested that some AI companies might insert advertisements directly into chatbot responses. In response, Altman posted on X that he “laughed” at the ad but described it as “clearly dishonest.” He said OpenAI’s principle was not to insert ads directly into chatbot responses. He also claimed that “more Texans use ChatGPT for free than total people use Claude in the US.” India AI Impact Summit them brought together The India AI Impact Summit 2026 brought together global AI leaders, policymakers and industry executives to discuss artificial intelligence governance, infrastructure and innovation. With OpenAI and Anthropic both expanding globally, including in India, public appearances of their CEOs attract close attention. While the viral moment sparked speculation online, Altman’s clarification suggests there was no deliberate snub, but rather uncertainty during a coordinated stage gesture.

A viral moment at the India AI Impact Summit showed Sam Altman and Dario Amodei not holding hands during a group photo with PM Modi. Altman later said he was “confused” about the gesture. The clip sparked speculation amid OpenAI-Anthropic rivalry.

'Didn't know what was happening': Here’s what Sam Altman said on his awkward exchange with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei

In a surprising turn of events, AI’s long-running rivalry between OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei hesitated to hold each other's hands at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi's Bharat Mandapam with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on stage. &nbsp;Instead of displaying solidarity in the end, the two lifted their fists while making the chain.&nbsp;The video uploaded by the news agency ANI on social media shows that when PM Modi raised fists, making a chain with other global tech leaders to show unity, Sam Altman and Dario Amodei hesitated to hold each other's hands while making the chain. Instead, both of them just raised their fists to show respect.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a> | Delhi | Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with global tech leaders including the CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, Alexandr Wang, Chief AI Officer of Meta, CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei pose for a group photograph at the India AI… <a href="https://t.co/GccXlG9rRx">pic.twitter.com/GccXlG9rRx</a>&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/2024349307835732347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<h3>Rift between OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei</h3>The rift between the tech leaders started after the founding of Anthropic, when Dario and Daniela Amodei, both former OpenAI vice presidents, with their then leader, Sam Altman, cited concerns that OpenAI was prioritising commercial interests over safety. That split set the stage for a deeper philosophical divide.&nbsp;Since then, Dario has built Anthropic around a safety-first ethos, placing his company on a trajectory starkly different from OpenAI’s. Altman’s firm, meanwhile, has closely tracked its former executive—now a major rival, and has frequently criticised Anthropic.&nbsp;Tensions resurfaced in early February, when the two exchanged fresh barbs after Anthropic ran a Super Bowl advertisement that appeared to poke fun at OpenAI’s decision to introduce ads in ChatGPT, a move Altman, who champions broad access over paywalls, openly pushed back against.&nbsp;"Anthropic serves an expensive product to rich people," Altman said in a post on the social media platform X. "We are glad they do that, and we are doing that too, but we also feel strongly that we need to bring AI to billions of people who can’t pay for subscriptions," he added. &nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/this-us-tech-ceo-misses-ai-summit-gala-hosted-by-pm-modi-after-four-hours-in-delhi-traffic-who-is-she-1771497626452">THIS US tech CEO missed AI Summit gala hosted by PM Modi after four hours in Delhi traffic. Who is she?</a>

The rift between the tech leaders started after the founding of Anthropic, when Dario and Daniela Amodei, both former OpenAI vice presidents, with their then leader, Sam Altman, cited concerns that OpenAI was prioritising commercial interests over safety.

In a surprising turn of events, AI’s long-running rivalry between OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei hesitated to hold each other's hands at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi's Bharat Mandapam with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on stage. Instead of displaying solidarity in the end, the two lifted their fists while making the chain. The video uploaded by the news agency ANI on social media shows that when PM Modi raised fists, making a chain with other global tech leaders to show unity, Sam Altman and Dario Amodei hesitated to hold each other's hands while making the chain. Instead, both of them just raised their fists to show respect.

The rift between the tech leaders started after the founding of Anthropic, when Dario and Daniela Amodei, both former OpenAI vice presidents, with their then leader, Sam Altman, cited concerns that OpenAI was prioritising commercial interests over safety.

Cold war on stage? OpenAI, Anthropic CEOs avoid holding hands in PM Modi's group photo at India AI Summit | WATCH

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‘Delighted to be wrong’: Sam Altman says AI may not trigger feared white-collar job apocalypse

What Sam Altman said on his awkward exchange with Dario Amodei on stage

OpenAI, Anthropic CEOs avoid holding hands in PM Modi's group photo at AI Summit