- Sam Altman says students should focus on getting “really good at using AI tools.”
- AI is already automating over 50% of coding at some companies, Altman told Stratechery’s Ben Thompson.
- The OpenAI CEO said students should prioritize the “meta ability to learn” over learning specific things.
Sam Altman is intensifying his advice for students preparing to enter a workforce where coding is becoming increasingly automated: master AI tools.
“The obvious tactical thing is just get really good at using AI tools,” Altman stated in a Thursday interview with Stratechery’s Ben Thompson. “Like when I was graduating as a senior from high school, the obvious tactical thing was get really good at coding. And this is the new version of that.”
The use of AI to generate code has become a hot topic among tech leaders.
Last week, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, forecasted that within six months, AI would be responsible for 90% of coding, and within a year, it could write nearly all code. Similarly, OpenAI’s Chief Product Officer, Kevin Weil, predicted that AI would surpass human programmers by the end of the year.
As discussions about AI replacing human developers gain momentum—especially with the rise of vibe coding—Altman has reinforced the stance he took in a September interview: mastering AI tools is key to securing a future-proof career.
“I think in many companies, it’s probably past 50% now,” Altman said in the Stratechery interview, referring to AI-generated code. “But the big thing I think will come with agentic coding, which no one’s doing for real yet.”
When asked what was preventing this shift, Altman responded, “Oh, we just need a little longer,” clarifying that the challenge lies in the models themselves rather than the products.
For students preparing for their careers, Altman emphasized the importance of developing “resilience and adaptability” along with the “meta ability to learn” rather than focusing solely on specific skills.
“Whatever specific thing you’re going to learn, like learn these general skills that seem like they’re going to be important as the world goes through this transition,” he advised.
Although software engineers remain in demand, Altman suggested this may not always be the case.
“My basic assumption is that each software engineer will just do much, much more for a while. And then at some point, yeah, maybe we do need fewer software engineers,” he said, referring to OpenAI’s hiring strategy.
He also noted that AI-driven job displacement will be a gradual process that accelerates over time.
“It kind of just seeps through the economy and mostly kind of like eats things little by little and then faster and faster,” Altman explained.