My Take | In China, AI is about job creation and quality, not mass retrenchments
My Take | In China, AI is about job creation and quality, not mass retrenchments
Publish Date: 2026-03-22 12:41:00
Source Domain: www.scmp.com
Like any revolutionary technology, artificial intelligence (AI) is morally neutral – it’s the use to which it is put that makes it harmful or beneficial.
While they are obsessed with achieving AI supremacy, Chinese policymakers have been far more concerned about regulating it, mitigating its impact on job losses and popularising its use as a social good.
It is trying to tackle the AI paradox: the more people use it, the more jobs in diverse sectors are threatened.
An AI productivity boost has long been promised, but it is already causing job losses. In China, it comes at a time when youth unemployment is rising while the decades-long economic juggernaut slows down.
Beijing has fully integrated its “AI-Plus” plan, first published last August, with its state industrial policy for the next five years.
