The landscape of employment in certain industries is poised for significant change as automation technology advances. Olivier Godement, the head of product for business products at OpenAI, indicated that roles in the life sciences, customer service, and computer engineering are particularly vulnerable to automation in the coming years.
During an episode of the “Unsupervised Learning” podcast, Godement highlighted the life sciences sector as a prime candidate for automation. He pointed to pharmaceutical companies like Amgen that focus on drug development. “The goal is to design new drugs,” he explained, noting that the process involves extensive research and administrative tasks. These administrative functions, which can be time-consuming, are increasingly becoming suitable for automation.
Godement elaborated, stating, “The time it takes from once you lock the recipe of a drug to having that drug on the market is months, sometimes years. Turns out models are pretty good at aggregating and consolidating tons of structured and unstructured data.” Automation could streamline these processes, reducing the time required to bring new drugs to market.
He joined OpenAI in 2023, having previously spent eight years at Stripe. Godement emphasized that while complete automation of white-collar jobs is not imminent, there are promising use cases emerging in areas such as coding and customer service.
In the realm of software engineering, Godement acknowledged ongoing debates within the tech industry. He stated that while automation has not yet reached a point where it can fully replace software engineers, there is a clear trajectory toward achieving this goal. “I think we have a line of sight essentially to get there,” he noted, reflecting on the integration of AI-assisted coding in various company workflows.
The impact of automation is being felt across the technology sector. A study by Indeed from October indicated that software engineers, quality assurance engineers, product managers, and project managers have faced the highest job losses during layoffs and reorganizations. This suggests a shifting landscape where traditional roles are being reevaluated in light of new technological capabilities.
Customer-oriented roles are also at risk. Godement mentioned his collaboration with T-Mobile, where efforts are underway to enhance customer experiences through automation. “We’re starting to achieve fairly good results in terms of quality at a meaningful scale,” he said, suggesting that many tasks could be automated within the next one to two years.
The conversation around automation extends beyond Godement. Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the “Godfather of AI,” has also weighed in on the potential for AI to surpass human capabilities. He commented in a June podcast that while certain fields may remain safe from complete automation, many roles in intellectual labor are at risk. Hinton expressed concern for those in positions such as paralegals and call center workers, stating, “For mundane intellectual labor, AI is just going to replace everybody.”
As technology continues to evolve, the conversation about the future of work, particularly in white-collar sectors, is becoming increasingly urgent. Automation is no longer a distant possibility but a reality that many industries must prepare for. The next few years will likely see significant shifts in job roles, particularly in sectors reliant on administrative tasks and customer interactions.
