OpenAI Shares Superintelligence Vision for Workers, Calls for Four-Day Workweeks and Bonuses

OpenAI, on Monday, shared a report on how the global government policies should be shaped to avoid the concentration of power and benefits in the hands of a select few. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm's report focused on broad areas of creating an open economy, sharing the prosperity received from the technology, and building a resilient society to mitigate the risks of AI. The company also suggested policy changes to improve workers' benefits and tax reformations.

OpenAI's Age of Superintelligence Focuses on Workers' Benefits

In the report titled “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age: Ideas to Keep People First,” the AI giant highlighted that as the age of superintelligence approaches, the world should focus on sharing its prosperity broadly, mitigating risks, and democratising access and agency.

“OpenAI is offering these ideas to help start a broader conversation about the kinds of policies and institutions needed to navigate the transition[..]as a starting point for discussion that we invite others to build on, refine, challenge, or choose among through the democratic process. The transition to superintelligence is[..]already underway, and the choices we make in the near term will shape how its benefits and risks are distributed for decades to come,” the report said.

Alongside calling for the creation of an open economy where governments sit together to ensure that the benefits are not limited to a select few, the suggestions were also pro-worker. The ChatGPT-maker suggested giving those being impacted by the AI transition a voice in understanding how the technology can be used in workplaces. The report added that the focus should be on creating better jobs and safer workplaces.

OpenAI also spoke about converting the efficiency and financial gains from AI into workers' benefits. Some of the suggested proposals include running a pilot of a 32-hour or four-day workweek with no loss in pay, increased paid time off, companies increasing retirement contributions and healthcare costs, and “benefit bonuses” tied to measured productivity improvements. The company also suggested subsidising child and eldercare.

The report emphasises the need to create safety nets for workers and help transitioning employees get access to quick unemployment insurance, social security, and healthcare facilities. Additionally, it said governments should create opportunities in areas requiring care and connection, such as childcare, eldercare, education, healthcare, and community services, as pathways for workers displaced by AI.

Another key focus area was modernising the tax base. OpenAI highlighted that AI will result in expanded corporate profits and capital gains, so the taxation should also reduce reliance on labour income and payroll taxes. Instead, it suggested higher taxes on capital gains, corporate income, and taxation on automated labour.

Apart from this, the report also mentions making access to AI a fundamental right of individuals, the creation of public wealth funds that allow individuals to invest in and make profits from AI advancement, creating safety systems for emerging risks, and developing systems that let individuals build trust in AI systems.