The Chinese people need have no fears that their jobs would be taken over by artificial intelligence and robots says a government report.

According to a report by The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, artificial intelligence (AI) is unlikely to put millions of Chinese out of jobs. On the contrary, a report from the Chinese government’s think tank says additional jobs in China would be created due to the adoption of AI, says hrmasia.

Moreover, the Academy’s report suggested that robots will not destroy jobs in any significant numbers during the Chinese 14^th Five Year Plan commencing in 2021.

China’s aim to be the global leader in AI

China harbors ambitions to be the world leader in artificial intelligence and robotic applications.

Could the report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences be publicity to lubricate the passage for the adoption of AI within the country?

Many restaurants, hotels, and factories across China are already implementing AI. Besides, the country has installed 154,032 industrial robots in 2018 as reported by the International Federation of Robotics. That number exceeds the number of industrial robots installed in Europe and America taken together.

The Academy’s report also suggests that jobs of those workers which are manual and repetitive in nature will transform. However, these jobs will not vanish.

These workers will get other job roles.

However, other opinions and reports appear to echo the views of the Chinese Academy.

AI and Robotics are not the villains we think they are

However, a report issued in September 2018 by PwC said something similar. “We estimate that AI and related technologies could displace around 26% of existing jobs in China over the next two decades …but could create significantly more additional jobs in China through boosting productivity and real income levels.”

“Our central estimate is that the net impact could be a boost to employment in China of around 12%, equivalent to around 90 million additional jobs over the next two decades.”

Another view is that AI is really to replace tasks, not jobs. According to McKinsey, automation is likely to eliminate very few occupations entirely over the next decade. However, it is undeniable that all kinds of jobs would undergo some impact from automation depending on their nature.

Similarly, the World Economic Forum predicted that automation could displace 75 million jobs by 2022. However, machines and algorithms in the workplace would create 133 million new openings.

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