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Two OpenAI employees have published an essay outlining three possible ways AI could reshape company hierarchies: by supporting workers, joining them as a colleague, or coordinating work between managers and staff. The authors describe these as illustrative scenarios, not predictions, and say the essay reflects their views rather than OpenAI’s. They argue that AI adoption could change workers’ responsibilities without necessarily causing layoffs, but that outcome is not assured.
Two OpenAI employees have outlined three possible ways artificial intelligence could reshape company hierarchies, arguing that AI might work beneath employees as supervised assistants, alongside them as a colleague, or between managers and staff as a coordinator. The essay is part of a series on the next economy, and its authors stress that it presents their views, not OpenAI’s; the scenarios are illustrative rather than predictions about how firms will develop.
The authors describe the first model as AI working beneath existing employees. People would keep their positions and reporting lines while AI agents take on tasks such as drafting messages, preparing memos and handling routine work. As the systems improve, the authors imagine agents coordinating with one another and taking on more specialized functions, leaving human workers to supervise a larger body of work.
The essay’s second model places AI beside people in the organization, initially handling individual tasks and potentially taking responsibility for broader functions over time. The third places AI between managers and employees, where it could coordinate and monitor work while carrying out an executive’s direction. The authors say elements of all three arrangements are already appearing in subtle ways, but do not provide company data or examples to measure how common they are.
The piece describes the authors’ own experience managing teams at a young age at OpenAI, where they say they use AI assistants for work. They acknowledge that the systems still make mistakes and require supervision. Their account is an illustration of how they use the tools, not evidence that every firm or employee is experiencing the same changes.
How AI Could Reshape Job Responsibilities
The scenarios frame AI adoption as a possible change in who manages work and how it is organized, not just a question of whether a task can be automated. If AI takes over routine duties, employees could spend more time on coordination, communication and judgment. That could widen the scope of some roles and shift authority within teams.
The authors argue that higher productivity might lead firms to pursue more output, creating new work for people who supervise AI or supply the expertise needed to use it. They offer this as a possible path to changed jobs rather than automatic job cuts. It is not a guarantee: the essay does not establish how many roles would expand, how pay would change, or whether companies would retain workers when AI can perform more tasks.
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The Essay’s Hybrid-Firm Framework
The essay is the second installment in a series about the next economy and is hosted on OpenAI’s website as part of a platform for independent voices exploring a future shaped by artificial general intelligence. The authors’ note says the writing reflects their personal views, not the views of OpenAI or their colleagues.
The authors focus on a period in which AI capabilities and workplace adoption are still developing, rather than assuming that firms will automate every job. They argue that adoption may begin with employees who understand the work and can supervise systems that handle only some tasks. If AI later performs broader functions, senior managers might use it more directly. The essay presents this as the authors’ reasoning, not as a measured finding about adoption across industries.
In its first scenario, the essay uses an accounting worker named Jace to illustrate how a role could change: AI agents handle spreadsheet tasks, while the employee focuses more on coordination and communication. The authors say the team could remain intact if greater productivity creates demand for more accounting work. That is a hypothetical example; the material does not report an actual company’s staffing outcome.
““None of these scenarios will play out exactly as we describe, but we think aspects of all three will come true.””
— The essay’s authors
Jobs, Pay and Adoption Remain Open
The essay does not establish how quickly firms will adopt AI, which jobs will be affected, or how often the three proposed structures will emerge. It also does not give evidence that productivity gains will consistently create enough additional work to preserve employment or increase pay.
Whether workers move into broader roles may depend on the reliability of AI systems, the cost of using them, the work involved and employers’ decisions. The authors acknowledge that AI agents still make mistakes and require oversight. The supplied report does not include independent research, company-wide adoption figures, or responses from workers and employers that could test the scenarios.
How Firms Put AI to Work
The essay does not announce a specific policy, product or implementation timetable. The next developments will be observable in how employers assign AI systems to tasks, whether those systems gain broader responsibilities, and whether human reporting lines change. Evidence from firms—including changes in hiring, staffing, productivity and pay—will be needed to assess whether the authors’ scenarios describe a wider shift or remain possibilities.
For now, the article offers a framework for interpreting workplace changes rather than a forecast with measurable milestones. Its authors expect elements of the three models to coexist, but the extent and consequences of adoption remain unconfirmed.
Key Questions
What are the three AI structures proposed in the essay?
The authors describe AI working beneath employees as supervised agents, beside them as a colleague with assigned functions, or between managers and staff as a coordinator of work.
Is the essay an official OpenAI position?
No. The authors say it reflects their own views, not the views of OpenAI or their colleagues.
Does the essay say AI will not cause layoffs?
No. It presents a scenario in which workers take on broader responsibilities instead of losing their jobs, but it does not establish that this will happen across firms or rule out layoffs.
What remains unknown about the future of firms?
The essay does not quantify adoption, job losses or gains, changes in pay, or how many companies will reorganize around AI. Those outcomes depend on how capable and reliable the systems become and how employers choose to use them.
Source: openai.com
