AI + ML
Beyond LinkedIn, Altman staffers want a piece of the action
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On Thursday, Fiji Simo, OpenAI’s head of applications (and former CEO of Instacart), announced plans for employees to advertise themselves to the company’s customers for new jobs. She said AI will shake up the job market, but who better to solve that problem than shakers?
“AI will be disruptive. The look of work will change, companies will need to adapt, and all of us, from shift workers to CEOs, will have to learn to work in new ways,” she said in a blog post.
“At OpenAI, we can’t eliminate that disruption. But what we can do is help more people become AI-savvy, connect them with companies that need their skills, and give them more economic opportunities.”
Simo’s plan is for workers to take technology literacy courses at the company’s OpenAI Academy and then advertise themselves on upcoming job platforms. He said the company has already signed up some major companies for the scheme, but choosing Walmart as an early adopter may not encourage future career paths for IT managers.
OpenAI declined further comment on its plans.
“At Walmart, we know that the future of retail isn’t just about technology, it’s about the people who know how to use it,” John Farner, CEO of Walmart US, said in a statement.
“By delivering AI training directly to our employees, we are equipping them with the most powerful technology of our time and equipping them with the skills to rewrite strategy and shape the future of retail.”
OpenAI Academy has some big names signed up, notably Georgia Tech’s well-regarded computer science teacher, but Simo says the company is working hard to build on the White House’s plan to make AI a core skill for the American workforce, as long as the engines they use aren’t too woke.
What Simo didn’t directly mention was that entering the job market would put the company in competition with one of its biggest backers, Microsoft. LinkedIn is a major job site in the West, and OpenAI setting up a competitor could get in the way of a friendly relationship.
Microsoft has not commented on the matter, but it appears that OpenAI is just scooping AI Cream and other emerging market leaders to its proposed hiring roster. There’s also the question of whether the skills that OpenAI offers in shillings are valid in the real job market.
Meanwhile, CEO Sam Altman and most of the tech world’s biggest names attended a dinner hosted by First Lady Melania Trump last night to discuss AI. Elon Musk was not there, but claims he was invited. ®
