Robots, AI will create, not steal jobs, says report

The report was based on responses from 1,026 employees in the manufacturing, sales, marketing, finance and accounting industries. About 84 per cent of the respondents said they are not anxious about being replaced by robots, while 58 per cent felt that robots and AI will create more opportunities in the labour market.
Peter Smith, managing director of Michael Page China, said such technology advancements would allow people to take on more innovative jobs. This is especially true for high-tech projects like driverless cars propelled by new technology, as more talent would be needed to invent and develop allied products. He also pointed out that the adoption of robotics and AI in more scenarios means upgrading in a large number of industries. In this sense, people will have more free time for leisure, thus creating more job opportunities in the service and lifestyle industries.
However, 18 per cent of the respondents expressed concerns that human beings might be replaced in the job market eventually, and 48 per cent of them said that this would happen in the next five to 10 years.
Smith admitted that robots and AI technology would exert a negative impact on entry-level jobs. For example, receptionists, entry-level auditing and banking jobs, as well as some jobs in public relations, were likely to be the first to disappear. But on the other hand, the demand for creative and technical jobs will increase, he added.
Alex Gu, director of Michael Page China, said it was too early for candidates to be intimidated by the possible challenges from robots or AI.
“Most of the robots are simply taking on complementary roles in the job market. It will take years for them to make a fundamental change in the landscape,” he said. The Chinese government has stressed the development of AI technology in a number of guidelines. In the national technology innovation blueprint for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) released by the State Council in July 2016, AI has been listed as one of the pioneering technologies for research and development. The State Council stated in an announcement in July this year that China should lead the world in terms of AI theory, technology and application by 2030.
According to global market consultancy Roland Berger, AI will create 10 trillion yuan (about Bt49 trillion) of added value by 2030 for sectors including the Internet, motor vehicles, retailing, finance and medicine. Both multinational and domestic companies of various industries are responding to the AI wave. According to Gu, there is a huge shortage of AI talent in China at present, while the demand for people with an engineering background is extremely high.
“Candidates with five years of experience can hardly be found in the domestic job market. Therefore, companies are looking for talent in the US, Japan, India and Israel where AI development started relatively earlier,” he said. Over time, companies have also been able to screen the right people who are able to carry out academic research independently, he added.