Human and AI Competition

Workers’ Daily July 13

China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba recently opened two grocery stores with no cashiers in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province. These advanced unmanned stores have triggered some worry that traditional retail stores will be heavily hit.

Widespread application of artificial intelligence (AI) will help make people’s lives more convenient, but at the same time, AI may also pose a threat to workers involved in certain industries. This is not a groundless worry, as the cost of using robots is only 23 percent of that of using human workers.

It is already a new trend for robots and AI to replace human labor in many industries and areas. How to preserve their jobs has become a big question for many workers particularly in the manufacturing industry.

Although, human workers are unlikely to be replaced overnight, they may have to consider how to improve and upgrade their professional capability and quality.

The Chinese Government has already put forward schemes to develop a high-quality team of industrial workers. Craftsmanship is stressed by government at all levels. Meanwhile, China is working toward the goal of becoming a high-tech-based manufacturing power. Workers should avail themselves of these opportunities and platforms to improve their techniques and professional quality, so as to deal with the threat from AI and robots more easily.