OpenAI’s chief economist says AI won’t kill jobs, even as layoffs keep piling up
Aaron Chatterji argues that AI exposure doesn't equal job substitution, pointing to new data showing most EU workers face no immediate disruption
There’s a particular kind of cognitive dissonance that happens when a company at the center of an employment earthquake tells everyone to stop worrying about employment earthquakes. OpenAI’s chief economist, Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji, did exactly that at a recent POLITICO event, arguing that artificial intelligence is more likely to reshape how tasks get done than to eliminate entire jobs.
The numbers behind the reassurance
Chatterji’s argument leans heavily on a newly released OpenAI report examining AI’s impact on European labor markets. The headline figure: only 14% of jobs in the European Union fall into the higher-risk category for automation in the near term.
According to the report, 47% of EU jobs are expected to face no immediate change from AI. An additional 12% could actually see job growth as a direct result of AI technologies being deployed.
Chatterji was appointed as OpenAI’s first chief economist on October 22, 2024. Before joining OpenAI, he held positions in academia and government, including as a Duke University professor and coordinator of the White House CHIPS initiative.
His core thesis at the event was straightforward: AI exposure does not equal job substitution. The fact that a worker’s tasks overlap with what AI can do doesn’t mean that worker is about to get a pink slip.
The “AI washing” problem
Some companies attribute layoffs to AI adoption even when the technology isn’t the primary driver. Chatterji calls this “AI washing.” According to Chatterji, this trend accounts for only a minor share of the overall job losses being reported.
Apollo’s chief economist has made similar observations, noting the absence of substantial evidence linking AI developments to net job destruction.