A new claim from inside the artificial intelligence industry is challenging long-held assumptions about which jobs are most at risk from AI. Contrary to the common belief that engineering or support roles would be the first to be disrupted, an OpenAI insider has suggested that researchers may face automation before engineers or sales professionals.
The claim was shared by Yuchen Jin, Chief Technology Officer of Hyperbolic Labs, on the social media platform X. According to Jin, an unnamed researcher from OpenAI believes that AI will first automate research roles, followed by infrastructure engineers, while sales teams are likely to be affected much later.
This perspective has sparked debate because it contradicts the widely held view that coding and software engineering jobs would be the earliest casualties of AI-driven automation.
Why Researchers Could Be Affected First
Explaining the reasoning behind the claim, Jin noted that a large part of research work involves generating ideas, running experiments, testing hypotheses, and analysing data. Modern generative AI systems are already capable of performing many of these tasks—often faster and at a larger scale than humans.
AI models can propose new hypotheses, test multiple variations simultaneously, and produce data-driven conclusions with high efficiency. However, Jin also clarified that AI still struggles to replace top-tier researchers who push the boundaries of knowledge and drive truly novel breakthroughs.
Why Engineers and Sales Teams Are Safer—for Now
The discussion comes amid significant shifts in the tech industry. Several prominent researchers associated with ChatGPT and GPT-4 have recently moved from OpenAI to Meta, highlighting the intense competition for AI talent. At the same time, companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Salesforce have acknowledged job cuts linked to increased AI adoption.
Despite this, roles that involve complex system design, real-world problem-solving, and human interaction—such as infrastructure engineering and sales—are seen as harder to automate fully in the near term.
Microsoft Flags 40 Roles Likely to Be Impacted by AI
Adding to the debate, Microsoft recently released a report outlining 40 professions that could be significantly affected by AI. The company emphasized that AI will not necessarily eliminate these jobs outright but will change how the work is done.
The list includes roles such as translators, journalists, customer service representatives, data scientists, market research analysts, web developers, PR professionals, editors, proofreaders, and even university-level teachers in certain disciplines. Despite these reassurances, many companies have slowed hiring or reduced roles due to increasing reliance on AI tools.
A Changing Definition of Work
The warning from within OpenAI underscores a broader reality: AI is no longer just a productivity tool—it is reshaping job structures across industries. As AI systems grow more capable, the traditional hierarchy of “safe” and “at-risk” jobs may need to be reconsidered, with research roles now emerging as unexpectedly vulnerable.
