A New Kind of Work in the Future

Sanlian Lifeweek Issue No. 8, 2019

Science and technology have changed the form of our work. Although artificial intelligence is in its infancy, it has begun to take over the simple, repetitive jobs that were previously performed by humans. In 2018, the number of jobs involving customer service and junior consulting skills decreased by 30 percent compared to 2017, ranking it the first among all skills. However, the relationship between artificial intelligence and human beings is less than a situation of wane and wax.

New technology has given rise to new demands and created changes in jobs. Semir Group, the first to use artificial intelligence, used the division of labor between people and machines to cope with growing business. The team of staff who do customer service has not reduced. Rather than replacing workers with artificial intelligence, it is better to say that in the long run, we’ll enter a state of man-machine coordination. Surprisingly, to JD’s unmanned warehouses and Baidu’s pilotless car research and development, those concerned practitioners who are considered to be easily overlooked and replaced by robots have quite positive attitudes about embracing this change. When these workers are able to cooperate with machines, they are more willing to demonstrate their value as people over other types of workers.

This mentality is something probably everyone needs to embrace in the face of such a changing situation today.