The 40 jobs most under threat after ChatGPT and OpenAI level up overnight

While we don’t officially know how many of the jobs losses have been due to AI, we do know that, starting today, a lot is about to change.

OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, have released GPT-6 Astra, which can take control of a computer and autonomously complete complex, multi-step tasks that would normally require a human.

Beyond simply answering random questions, Astra is more of an AI assistant that can actually get things done.

It can browse the web, use websites and software, fill in forms, carry out research, create documents and spreadsheets, write and test code, and complete longer tasks with less human input.

A key difference with Astra is that it handle much larger amounts of information at once and is better at following complex instructions.

Simply put, the big change is that instead of just telling you how to do a task, Astra can increasingly do the task for you.

Astra is able to take full control over your computer without the need of a human (OpenAI)

OpenAI’s launch advert shows Astra operating a computer to create a presentation, preparing an eBay listing, to edit a legal document, book a tennis court and turning an idea for a rocket into a 3D model ready for printing.

Astra is officially out as of today (4 September), but it is not yet generally available to everyone, as OpenAI says it is rolling out to selected enterprises in its Daybreak Access Program and through the API.

For regular ChatGPT users, Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise customers are due to get Astra over the coming days.

CEO Sam Altman wrote: “GPT-6 Astra is here. We hope it will begin to enable a new generation of entrepreneurship, scientific discovery, and building.

“We believe it is the best model in the world for computer use, professional work, science, coding, cybersecurity, and more. It took us some extra time to ensure that we could meet the safety and alignment standards required for this capability level, but we think you’ll find it worth the wait.

Astra is out today but not everyone can use it (OpenAI)

“It scores 98% on FrontierMath Tier 4, 99.9% on ARC-AGI 3, and 100% on ExploitBench.”

While Bill Gates warns that job losses from AI won't be the worst-case-scenario, Elon Musk thinks that there will be at least one billion robots within the next decade, and that they will be more productive than the whole of humanity.

“So it starts off very slowly but then grows at an explosive rate,” the SpaceX founder told the 2026 G20 summit in North Carolina.

“10 years from now, I would say there are well over a billion humanoid robots. The productivity per robot will be probably five times that of a human.”

Last year, Microsoft released a list of the 40 jobs most at risk of being taken over by AI, including interpreters, historians, and mathematicians.

An important thing to note is that Microsoft's list shows how good AI is at performing challenging tasks within occupations, rather than being able to perform the whole job on their own.

Top 40 most exposed jobs to AI

1. Interpreters and translators — 98%
2. Historians — 91%
3. Mathematicians — 91%
4. Proofreaders — 91%
5. Automatic machine coders — 90%
6. Writers and authors — 85%
7. Statistical assistants — 85%
8. Sales representatives — 84%
9. Technical writers — 83%
10. Journalists — 81%
11. Passenger attendants — 80%
12. Telephone operators — 80%
13. Editors — 78%
14. Farm and home management educators — 77%
15. Political scientists — 77%
16. Data scientists — 77%
17. Geographers — 77%
18. Announcers and radio DJs — 74%
19. Brokerage clerks — 74%
20. Web developers — 73%
21. Customer service representatives — 72%
22. New accounts clerks — 72%
23. Ticket agents and travel clerks — 71%
24. Market research analysts — 71%
25. Concierges — 70%
26. Business teachers — 70%
27. Personal financial advisors — 69%
28. Economics teachers — 68%
29. Management analysts — 68%
30. Switchboard operators — 68%
31. Telemarketers — 66%
32. Advertising sales agents — 66%
33. Archivists — 66%
34. Public safety telecommunicators — 66%
35. Library science teachers — 65%
36. Demonstrators and product promoters — 64%
37. Models — 64%
38. Public relations specialists — 63%
39. Counter and rental clerks — 62%
40. Hosts and hostesses — 60%