AI Companies Are Buying Rare Books, Scanning Them for Training Data, Then Shredding Them
Multiple AI companies are buying rare books, scanning them for training data, then shredding the originals — including irreplaceable texts.
Sam Altman Says AI Won't Shorten the Workweek — Because People Enjoy Being Busy
By Prompt AI News1 min read
#openai#sam-altman#labor#automation
TechSpot reports that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is pushing back against the idea that AI will meaningfully reduce working hours. Altman's argument: the technology can handle more of the workload, but humans inherently enjoy staying busy and will simply find new tasks to fill any time that automation frees up.
The reasoning describes a best-case scenario for workers who have the autonomy to create their own tasks — essentially knowledge workers at the top of the skills distribution. It doesn't address what happens when automation displaces workers in roles where that kind of task-creation isn't available, such as customer service or content production.
Altman is describing a voluntary relationship with work from the perspective of a founder who enjoys his job. Whether that generalizes to the broader workforce — across sectors, income levels, and job types — is a question the argument doesn't attempt to answer.
Leave a Comment
All comments are reviewed before appearing. Keep it respectful.
More in Commentary
View all →Instagram's Head Says Engineering Hiring Has Changed — Coding Fluency Is No Longer the Bar
Adam Mosseri says Instagram no longer requires engineers to code 40–60% of the time and has scrapped the traditional technical interview loop.
Robotics Startup 1X Demos Humanoid Robots That Can Cook Dinner
Robotics startup 1X showed off humanoid robots that can cook dinner, part of what MIT Technology Review calls the "unsexy AI" wave.