Goldman Sachs CEO Says People May Work Longer if They Stay Healthy

Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon said Friday that people may work longer if they remain healthy, as artificial intelligence’s potential health applications raise the prospect of longer lives.

“I think people are going to work longer,” Solomon said in an interview Friday, Oct. 23. He said most people work when healthy, both for income and because work gives them purpose.

The conversation addressed whether longer lives associated with AI health applications could mean people need to earn income for more years. Solomon gave no estimate or timeline for potential lifespan gains. He also proposed no retirement age or specific policy for people who may work longer.

Solomon said businesses and government should help workers if AI changes jobs faster than people can adjust. He called for allowing innovation while taking responsibility for its effects on workers. “I think we have to allow innovation, but we also have to take responsibility for that innovation,” Solomon said.

Goldman Sachs committed $500 million Thursday, Oct. 22, to expand its 10,000 Small Businesses program. The expansion aims to give 10,000 more businesses training, access to financing and other support. The announcement also launched the Small Business AI Institute, with Anthropic, Google, Meta and OpenAI as partners.

A survey of more than 2,400 graduates of the program, released Oct. 22, found that 86% used AI in their businesses and 15% had fully integrated it into core operations. Those figures describe the surveyed graduates, not all U.S. small businesses.