Following a week that saw multiple AI related interviews, presentations, workshops and events, the conversation about the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs has been brought to the limelight once again, this time by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Speaking at the Indian Express Adda on February 20, Altman spoke heavily on the larger job disruption that’s been set forth by the latest developments in artificial intelligence. Altman said that in a way it’s very hard to predict how this technological revolution will exactly affect jobs and cited the previous industrial revolutions to make his case.

“If you go back to the time of the industrial revolution, no-one at that point in time could have exactly spoken about creation of professions like I am going to be the CEO of an AI company or I am going to be a YouTube influencer,” he remarked.

Elaborating on his viewpoint, Altman explained that he believes that there is no end to human creativity and feels that as long as humans continue to think, innovate, create and adapt, they will find plenty of things to do just in maybe better and more productive ways.

Notably, January of 2026 saw one of the largest waves of mass IT layoffs in recent years, as companies re-structure their entire workforce and cut costs to pivot more investment towards making their organisations AI adaptive and ‘AI native’.

2 jobs that won’t be affected by AI

In his address, Altman also admitted that there will be some professions that will not be impacted by AI at all and gave two examples that he derived from his personal research and experience.

When asked about the least vulnerable jobs, Altman jumped really quickly to creators and then to artists that work on fine art. He said, “Ever since AI started generating images, people said that it is over for graphic artists, maybe that is true for the kind that design, say birthday cards. But if you look at the people who practise fine arts and paintings their value has jumped ever since AI started to create images whereas the price for AI images is zero. This is because people care about the human element.”

Despite the proliferation of generative image tools, Altman argued that AI has actually acted as a catalyst for the value of human-made art. While “commodity” design such as birthday cards or basic stock imagery is being subsumed by AI, fine art is seeing a premium.

Talking about the second such job, Altman recalled a recent personal hospital visit. He said that nursing and direct care jobs will also likely remain immune to the effects of artificial intelligence. “I really cared about the nurse that was taking care of me and would have been pretty unhappy if it were a robot, no matter how smart or efficient the robot was,” Altman said at Express Adda.

Altman’s comments suggested that professions direct human care and empathy are less vulnerable. While a robot might eventually possess the technical intelligence to administer medicine, it may lack the emotional connect and resonance required to bring hope and care to patients.

What about other jobs?

When presenting his opinion on how AI will impact different professions, Altman delivered a sharp and well-worded verdict. According to the OpenAI CEO, almost all jobs in their ‘old sense’ will go away because of AI.

Explaining what he meant by the old way, Altman said that the jobs may not go away, its just that the way in which they are done or roles are defined across professions will be transformed as companies adapt to latest developments in Artificial intelligence.

To further illustrate his point, Altman gave the example of his own education.

“I was trained as a software engineer, and the way I learned to write software is now effectively completely irrelevant. It does not mean that there is no longer a software engineering job in the future, but writing C++ code in the old way is over,” he explained.

According to Atlman, new roles and work opportunities will continue to turn-up for humans as long as humans continue to adapt, up-skill and innovate in creative ways.

Another good way to think about this could be that, while the invention of calculators eliminated the jobs of people who used to perform the function of counting for businesses and other enterprises and works, it allowed for more complex accounting based professions to come in.

In a message addressed to youngsters and students worldwide, Altman advised them to pursue certain ‘non-negotiable skills’ that would be essential for survival in the AI world.

The skills recommended by Altman for students to master are:

1 AI Fluency: Understanding how algorithms/AI systems work and how you work with them the best, utilising functions of AI systems and their properties to your best advantage.

2 Adaptability: Having flexibility, the ability to unlearn and upskill when required

3 Human empathy and connection: Willingness to look at and realise larger problems from a human angle/ empathy and communicate with people effectively across different stakes.

As per Altman, these skills will form the essential start pack for anyone looking to contribute positively to the post AI-era global economy.