OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Predicts AI Agents to Enter Workforce in 2025

Here come the AI agents

Why it matters: That was Sam Altman's message, buried in a recent blog post. State of play: The possibility of using AI agents to do work instead of expensive humans has some companies super excited. It's making many workers super anxious. For example, a scientist could use a bot to conduct research and possibly even design an experiment. Zoom out: Altman, of course, has a big interest in a future where AI plays a bigger role at work. And it's not clear yet what happens to U.S. workplaces in 2025. Zoom in: Some companies are already experimenting with AI agents in limited pilot programs -- to conduct drug discovery, for project management, or to design marketing campaigns. The big picture: The key question is what happens to people's jobs? Most experts agree that agents will change the nature of work over the coming years -- particularly for those who work at a desk in front of a computer. That could mean an agent starts doing some of your work. "In an ideal world, this is a multiplier of effort where I delegate the worst parts of my job to AI," says Ethan Mollick, a management professor at Wharton who studies AI. Yes, but: While humans will still absolutely be needed to supervise the AI's work, agents will start replacing humans over the next two years, says Anton Korinek, an economics professor at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and Visiting Scholar at Brookings Between the lines: Humans are moving more slowly than the technology. Companies have to figure out how to adjust operations to accommodate AI workers, says Lareina Yee, a senior partner at McKinsey and AI expert.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI agents will enter workforce this year

Why it matters: That was Sam Altman's message, buried in a blog post. State of play: The possibility of using AI agents to do work instead of expensive humans has some companies super excited. It's making many workers super anxious. For example, a scientist could use a bot to conduct research and possibly even design an experiment. Zoom out: Altman, of course, has a big interest in a future where AI plays a bigger role at work. And it's not clear yet what happens to U.S. workplaces in 2025. Zoom in: Some companies are already experimenting with AI agents in limited pilot programs to conduct drug discovery, for project management, or to design marketing campaigns. The big picture: The key question is what happens to people's jobs? Most experts agree that agents will change the nature of work over the coming years -- particularly for those who work at a desk in front of a computer. That could mean an agent starts doing some of your work. "In an ideal world, this is a multiplier of effort where I delegate the worst parts of my job to AI," says Ethan Mollick, a management professor at Wharton who studies AI. Yes, but: While humans will still absolutely be needed to supervise the AI's work, agents will start replacing humans over the next two years, says Anton Korinek, an economics professor at the University of Virginia and a visiting scholar at Brookings. Between the lines: Humans are moving more slowly than the technology. Companies have to figure out how to adjust operations to accommodate AI workers, says Lareina Yee, a senior partner at McKinsey and an AI expert.