Tech Leaders Promise AI Means Less Work, But Staff Report 90-Hour Weeks
paulabartabajo_ · x · 2026-08-11
Executives at major AI companies like OpenAI and Google have publicly claimed that AI will significantly reduce human working hours, with some even advocating for a four-day workweek. However, BBC reports reveal a starkly different reality for their employees.
Former OpenAI staff described a grueling work culture filled with "crisis meetings" and weekend shifts, noting the company never actually trialed the four-day workweek it urged others to adopt. Meanwhile, firms like Anthropic heavily promote AI models capable of working autonomously for seven hours, highlighting the contradiction between the industry's utopian promises and its exhausting internal demands.
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