We tend to think of OpenAI and AI companies in general as pushing for minimal regulation so nothing slows their expansion. But in a new document, “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age,” OpenAI argues the opposite: that government oversight isn’t just necessary; we need it now.
It suggests we need a new kind of industrial policy to deal with the upheaval AI will create: “The transition to superintelligence will require an even more ambitious form of industrial policy, one that reflects the ability of democratic societies to act collectively, at scale, to shape their economic future so that superintelligence benefits everyone.”
The risk to jobs is framed as the most immediate threat. “While we strongly believe that AI’s benefits will far outweigh its challenges, we are clear-eyed about the risks — of jobs and entire industries being disrupted,” the document says. It also points to wider concerns, including threats to democracy, wealth concentrating in the hands of a few, and “bad actors” misusing the technology.
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OpenAI suggests expanding what it calls the “care and connection economy”, roles in childcare, eldercare, education, healthcare, and community services, as new pathways for workers. It also proposes turning AI-driven efficiency gains into tangible benefits for employees.
That’s where one of its most eye-catching ideas comes in.
OpenAI suggests governments and employers should “incentivize employers and unions to run time-bound 32-hour/four-day workweek pilots with no loss in pay that hold output and service levels constant.” If successful, those shorter weeks could become permanent or translate into more paid time off.
It’s an appealing vision: AI does more of the work, and humans get more time back. But it rests on a big assumption — that those productivity gains actually translate into higher wages and not just higher profits.
Tax the rich
The document from OpenAI also hints at a more fundamental shift needed in how economies are taxed. If AI reduces the need for human labor, it argues, governments may need to rely less on taxing workers and more on taxing capital and the companies benefiting most from automation. In other words, if AI is doing more of the work, the businesses profiting from it may need to shoulder more of the burden.
One of the more radical proposals contained in the document is the idea of a public wealth fund. It’s effectively a way of redistributing the gains from AI across society. Instead of those profits sitting with a handful of companies, they could be pooled and returned to citizens, echoing models like sovereign wealth funds.
What’s most striking about this document, however, is how OpenAI frames AI itself. This is no longer just about better chatbots or smarter tools. The document positions AI as something closer to infrastructure — a foundational layer that will underpin entire industries, economies, and public services.
The future is bright
OpenAI is arguing that AI could reshape the economy for the better, while also outlining how easily it could concentrate wealth and power if left unchecked. History has told us that humans are generally bad at long-term planning, and it’s going to take a very different mentality from the one that our political leaders currently embody to implement these ideas.
It’s also an unusual position for OpenAI to put itself in: the company building the AI technology is now helping sketch out how AI should be taxed, regulated, and redistributed. Whether that’s forward-thinking or self-serving will depend on who you ask, although the idea of a four-day work week would get my vote.
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