Don't worry about the impact of AI on employment

Don't worry about the impact of AI on employment

Xia Jianbai

[to become a powerful AI country in the future, China needs not only to make major breakthroughs in basic theories, core algorithms and key equipment, but also to form a system of AI development policies, regulations and social science theories with Chinese characteristics and Chinese style]

in July 2017, the "development plan for a new generation of AI" issued by the State Council clearly pointed out, The rapid development of artificial intelligence will profoundly change human social life and the world. So, how to understand the important influence of artificial intelligence from the perspective of social development? As a disruptive technology, AI will not only have a great impact on the future mode of production, employment structure and social ethics, but also have a profound impact on government management, economic security, social stability and even global governance before bearing the pull of FM. In order to become a powerful AI country in the future, China needs not only to make major breakthroughs in basic theories, core algorithms and key equipment, but also to form a system of AI development policies, regulations and social science theories with Chinese characteristics and styles

artificial intelligence is a new thing emerging in recent years. People care about it and hold various views on it at the same time. A few years ago, people didn't believe that machines and humans could win in go. After "alphago" played against the world's top go masters and won, people were completely convinced. The main points I emphasized are as follows:

first, some social views may overemphasize the impact of AI on the employment structure. In my opinion, people also need to carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence. Taking novels as an example, machine translation of some popular novels may be feasible, but translation of classics is unacceptable. Every novel has its historical background and environment, and every writer has its own style and characteristics, which can be understood only through the translation of excellent translators. People are not satisfied with only knowing the plot of a novel when reading classic works. As for books on science and technology, as a worker myself, I would rather read foreign original works than those poor translations, let alone science and technology books of machine translation

third, machine learning still cannot replace human learning. The development of artificial intelligence, such as search engine and Wikipedia, free download of papers, has indeed brought great convenience to the majority of scientific and technological workers, saving a lot of time to find information. However, learning and scientific research, as well as literature and art, such as writing novels and translation, are all personal behaviors. Everyone has their own foundation, interests and hobbies, and machines cannot completely replace these things

fourth, people should not be too pessimistic about the impact of artificial intelligence on human employment. Of course, now that artificial intelligence has just begun to develop, no one can predict the consequences it will cause. In my opinion, labor is divided into mental labor and physical labor. Some mental work can be replaced by machines, but the key points still need human wisdom. As for physical labor, in addition to robots on the production line, machines cannot replace others, such as building bridges, high-rise buildings, high-speed railways, etc. Why can't you build the high-speed railway by yourself? It's not because of your poor technology, but because no one does such hard work

AI is waiting for no time! Cui Lixin said that it is omnipotent and not applicable to any occasion. There will always be differences in society, such as the difference between the rich and the poor and the difference in the level of knowledge. In daily social life, some social services, including banks, and even the catering industry, should try to take into account the cognitive ability and knowledge level of most people. Nowadays, the society is actively promoting QR codes, Alipay, electronic invoices, etc., which may be no problem for young people in the city, but it is a little at a loss for farmers from the countryside and the urban elderly, including me. Therefore, in the field of service, we should try to adopt popular and easy methods that are convenient for everyone to learn and master in relevant laboratories such as colleges and universities and scientific research institutions, rather than developing high-tech that can only be used by a few people

(the author is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

(: Li Jiajia hn153)