The suggestions are part of a swathe of ideas the company has put forward to help society adjust to AI.

According to OpenAI, there is a need for a “new industrial policy” in light of AI developments, and the company said it wanted to “start a conversation about governing advanced AI in ways that keep people first”, it claimed in the document.

If progress in AI developments continues, this could result in systems being capable of carrying out tasks that currently take people months to complete, said OpenAI. The company said in the paper: “This shift will reshape how organizations run, how knowledge is created, and how people find meaning and opportunity. It will also highlight the limitations of today’s policy toolkit and the need for more ambitious ideas to keep people at the center of the transition to superintelligence.”

Efficiency gains from AI should translate into “durable improvement in workers’ benefits when routine workload declines and operating costs fall”, the company wrote in the paper.

It advised incentivising employers and unions to run 32-hour or four-day work week pilot programmes, with no loss in pay, and then either adopt a permanent shorter working week and/or provide “bankable paid time off”.

The company suggested investing in “clear, real-time measurement of how AI is affecting work, wages, job quality, and sectoral dynamics”, using public metrics including unemployment rates and “indicators of regional or industry-specific displacement”.

Such systems, said OpenAI, should give policymakers visibility of where disruption is happening so that they can then create “temporary, expanded safety nets” – the company suggested this could mean expanding unemployment benefits or making them more flexible, or offering wage insurance or training vouchers – if metrics exceed “pre-defined thresholds”.

The company also said governments and public institutions should establish “mechanisms for representative public input” as advanced AI makes more decisions that are affecting people’s lives.

OpenAI said it is launching a pilot programme of fellowships and research grants of up to $100,000 and up to $1m in ‘API credits’ for work exploring these ideas.