Sam Altman ruled out a hiring freeze, saying OpenAI will slow recruitment instead of aggressively expanding headcount.
He warned companies against over-hiring and later cutting jobs as AI reduces the need for large teams.
OpenAI is also preparing to introduce ads on ChatGPT, charging higher-than-average rates while limiting user data access.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman agreed that AI is changing the way the organisation thinks about hiring, but ruled out a recruitment freeze or any attempt to replace human workers entirely. During the live-streamed town hall geared mostly at developers, Altman noted that AI is allowing OpenAI to scale its work more efficiently, minimising the need for rapid manpower expansion. He stated that the company intends to decrease, rather than stop, hiring as productivity gains from AI tools continue to increase.
SurveyAltman has also warned against the boom and bust approach in recruitment, where companies hire rapidly only to realise later that automation has reduced the need for large teams. Instead, he said OpenAI intends to take a more cautious route by hiring steadily while relying on AI to amplify the impact of smaller teams.
“We are planning to dramatically slow down how quickly we grow because we think we’ll be able to do so much more with fewer people. What I think we shouldn’t do, and what I hope other companies won’t do either, is hire super aggressively, then realize all of a sudden AI can do a lot of stuff, and you need fewer people, and have to have some sort of very uncomfortable conversation,” Altman said. “So I think the right approach for us will be to hire more slowly but keep hiring,” he added.
This comes at a time when the jobs in the US are affected due to multiple aspects. As per Business Insider citing recent labour data, the hiring momentum has slowed down with unemployment rising to its highest level in several years and job openings sharply down from their post pandemic peak. Longer periods of joblessness are also becoming more common, particularly among younger workers, who have been disproportionately affected by the slowdown.
Meanwhile, OpenAI intends to integrate ads into ChatGPT. According to the reports, the company intends to charge advertisers around $60 per 1,000 impressions to run ads on ChatGPT, which is higher than what platforms like Meta typically charge. Even with premium pricing, advertisers will only receive basic performance insights, such as total views and clicks, rather than detailed data on user actions or conversions.
The company has also stated that deeper analytics may be added later, but that user conversations will remain private and personal data will not be sold. Ads are expected to appear soon for free and lower-tier users, excluding minors and sensitive topics.
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Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
