Sam Altman says companies embracing AI the most are actually hiring

• The comments come as public sentiment toward AI sours.
• OpenAI just broke ground on a massive data center project in Michigan.

He said he wished the company had been more precise.

“What I wish we had said then is that it outperforms professionals at small tasks in 44 occupations, which is, I think, a more accurate thing,” he said. “I think people are right to be anxious. And I understand it. This is not even a technological shift that happens every generation. This is one of the big ones.”

‘The Barn’

The interview took place on the company’s Saline Township campus in front of heavy construction equipment. When it’s finished, the project is expected to deliver about five times the power of the average current data center project.

OpenAI has framed the project as an economic boost for the area, saying in a press release that it would create 2,500 union construction jobs and another 450 permanent on-site jobs.

The project has also become a flashpoint locally. Last week, Saline Township Treasurer Jennifer Zink stepped down from her position, citing violent threats she said she had received since the data center project was approved.

“Every time I come to one of these sites, I’m struck again,” he said. “The numbers say one gigawatt this, this many jobs, or tens of billions of dollars in capital. It doesn’t really get across the feeling of watching something like this materialize.”

OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.