AI Could Create 90 Million Additional Jobs in China

AI and related technologies, such as robots, drones and autonomous vehicles, could provide a net boost to employment in China of around 12% over the next two decades, equating to around 90 million additional jobs, according to PwC. The company estimates that the boost from AI and related technologies to economic growth in China could create millions of new jobs, more than offsetting displacement of existing jobs. But the report argues there is no room for complacency given the projected scale of disruption to the labour market from these technologies.

This new analysis for China contrasts with PwC’s earlier research suggesting a broadly neutral net impact of AI and related technologies on jobs in the UK. In that analysis, PwC found that these technologies could displace around 20% of existing jobs by 2037, but could create a similar number of additional jobs by boosting economic growth. Based on previous research, PwC judges that results for the UK are likely to be broadly similar to the average across OECD countries.

Relative to the UK estimates, China is projected to see a higher level of job displacement (26% vs 20%) due to the greater scope for further automation in manufacturing and agriculture. But this is more than offset by the larger estimated boost to GDP from AI and related technologies, which will also feed through into much greater job creation in China (38%) relative to the UK (20%)

The study highlights great opportunities to business from investing in AI and related technologies in China, covering all aspects of operations from marketing and product personalisation to R&D, productive efficiency, human resource processes and cyber security. It also warns there is likely to be significant disruption to existing business models in all parts of the economy, as already seen in sectors like media, entertainment, finance and retail.

The report notes that a job being at “high risk“ of being automated does not mean that it will definitely be automated, because of a range of economic, legal and regulatory, and organisational barriers to the adoption of AI and related new technologies. For China, while almost 40% of jobs could be susceptible to automation by 2037, PwC’s central estimate is that only around a quarter of existing Chinese jobs will actually be displaced over this period, as compared to 38% job creation.