AI Developers Work 90-Hour Weeks as Tech Leaders Promise 4-Day Future
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 10
AI Developers Work 90-Hour Weeks as Tech Leaders Promise 4-Day Future
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 10
Summary
Workers at OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta told the BBC AI teams can log more than 90 hours in seven days, with nights, weekends and extended "sprints" now common.
Those accounts undercut industry claims that AI will soon cut working time, including OpenAI's call for companies to test four-day weeks and earlier predictions that AI would enable them.
At Meta, current and former employees said staff were "drafted" onto urgent AI projects with little choice, while a former OpenAI employee described crisis meetings, weekend catch-up work and abrupt firings.
The pressure is spreading beyond core AI teams: a former Google engineer said AI-related resource shifts forced overnight work, and he left in May after the strain hurt his sleep and health.
UC Berkeley research tracking hundreds of tech workers for eight months found AI sped up work, broadened tasks and stretched workdays, as time saved was offset by rollout changes and checking AI output.