AI and Automation in the Future of Work

Abstract

In order to analyze the potential impact of artificial intelligence(AI) technology on future work, this paper collected 14 years of wages, employment and other indicators data from 16 industries in 31 provinces of China as samples. According to the time sequence of technology development and the law of industry development, this paper studied the impact of AI on wages, employment growth, and industry wage gap by stages. In terms of the technological development trajectory, AI has positively promoted employment and wage growth over the past 14 years. However, after 2016, this positive promotion effect declined significantly, especially the impact of AI on employment turned from positive to negative, and it had a widening effect on the industry wage gap, which aggravated the inequality of income. This shows that China’s labor market is undergoing profound changes. In the face of these challenges, the government must act actively, invest the necessary capital and educational resources, provide short-term and long-term support for workers’ technological transformation. Meanwhile, the government should also encourage enterprises and social institutions to carry out AI innovation and project applications, so as to create more jobs and help increase the average wage level of the industries.