OpenAI is making a bold new move to tackle AI’s impact on the workforce.
The company recently unveiled plans for a new AI-powered hiring platform and a certification program aimed at training millions of workers in AI skills.
The jobs platform is designed to use AI to match companies with candidates based on their AI proficiency. According to Fidji Simo, the CEO of applications at OpenAI, this won't be a simple job board. Instead, candidates will be able to demonstrate their skills with a certification, allowing AI to match them with companies that need their specific capabilities.
This initiative is a massive step toward accelerating AI literacy, but it also feels like an acknowledgment from a company that’s well aware of the disruptive power of its own technology.
To understand what's really happening here and what it means for the future of work, I talked with SmarterX and Marketing AI Institute founder and CEO Paul Roetzer on Episode 166 of The Artificial Intelligence Show.
A Commitment to AI Literacy
Roetzer sees this as a huge step and exactly the kind of initiative that he's been hoping to see from major tech companies. The need for AI literacy is something his company SmarterX has been working on for years, with its AI Academy launching in 2020 to help people become more comfortable with the technology.
The goal of these new programs, as articulated by Simo, is to help people "become fluent in AI and connect them with companies that need their skills.” The company is committing to certifying 10 million Americans by 2030 and has already partnered with the largest private employer in the U.S., Walmart, to develop the program.
Roetzer notes that while the details are still being ironed out, it’s clear that the market for AI education is about to explode.
“It is a massive market and the need is only going to get bigger,” he says.
This initiative is further validation that AI literacy is becoming a fundamental requirement for the future of work.
The Inevitable Tension
However, Roetzer also points out the fascinating and tricky dynamic at play here. OpenAI is the company building the very technology that is causing the disruption it now seeks to help people navigate.
“This is a company that’s raising unprecedented amounts of money to build AI that does what humans do. That’s their express purpose. Their mission is general intelligence, which is basically AI that’s better than humans at everything,” he says.
“So it’s a weird dynamic to have a company that is going to push the frontiers of what’s possible with this technology come along and say ‘Hey, but we’re going to do our best to upskill people and in the process, hopefully it all works out and there are enough jobs to go around.’”
There’s an element of self-interest, too.
As Roetzer notes, these tech companies are ultimately building these programs to drive the use of their own technology. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something to be aware of. The certifications will likely be tied to using OpenAI's tools effectively, which helps solidify its position in the market.
A New Era of Choice
For workers and business leaders, this new initiative doesn’t mean you have to rely solely on one company for your AI education. This is just one more option in a rapidly growing landscape of learning resources.
Google, Anthropic, and Microsoft are all creating courses and learning materials. Platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Coursera are already massive players in the space. Not to mention, SmarterX’s own AI Academy.
“The nice thing for us, as workers and leaders, is that we have a whole bunch of choices,” he says. “It’s imperative that people take advantage of all these things and really personalize your own learning process.”
The biggest challenge may not be a lack of options, but rather filtering through them all to find the ones that will truly impact your career.
Ultimately, OpenAI’s new jobs platform and certification program are a clear sign that the company is moving beyond just building AI models and is now actively shaping the future of the AI workforce. It’s a powerful acknowledgment that as AI becomes more capable, human skills must evolve alongside it.
Mike Kaput
As Chief Content Officer, Mike Kaput uses content marketing, marketing strategy, and marketing technology to grow and scale traffic, leads, and revenue for Marketing AI Institute. Mike is the co-author of Marketing Artificial Intelligence: AI, Marketing and the Future of Business (Matt Holt Books, 2022). See Mike's full bio.