AI sparks alarm in China with call to protect worker rights

CHINA’S rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in the workplace has prompted an unusually blunt call from a state-run newspaper to protect labour rights, as Beijing considers how to contain risks posed by the new technology.

In an editorial published on Thursday, the Workers’ Daily — the official mouthpiece of China’s umbrella trade union organisation — urged government agencies to mount an active response as new threats emerge to the rights of employees.

It called on regulators to improve labour standards and strengthen oversight of AI algorithms, including by giving a greater say to trade unions and workers’ representatives.

“The benefits of technological advancement should be shared by society as a whole, rather than becoming a tool for a small number of employers to undermine workers’ rights,” the editorial said. It was titled “With the AI ​​wave surging, how can we build a strong ‘dam’ for workers’ rights?”

The deployment of AI tools around the world presents an especial challenge for China, where employment is a politically sensitive issue and maintaining social stability is a priority for top leaders. Evidence is already mounting that the technology is causing heavy job losses in countries like the US.

As AI spreads across workplaces, China is also having to contend with chronic weakness in the jobs market — a major obstacle for Beijing’s efforts to revive confidence among households.

Citigroup has estimated that China’s “widespread but still shallow” adoption of AI eventually threatens to displace 70 million workers in the country.

Pressure on the world’s biggest labour force will also build as the economy transitions toward a technology-driven growth model and away from real estate.

A recent analysis by Bloomberg Economics found that while China’s pivot to high-tech and green sectors is set to create tens of millions of jobs over the rest of the decade, it also risks leaving many workers behind because of skill mismatches.

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The looming disruption coming from AI has prompted the Workers’ Daily to publish a series of reports devoted to labor protections during what it called the “AI wave.”

The newspaper was founded in 1949 — the same year the Communists established the People’s Republic of China — to act as a “voice for China’s working class,” and it remains among the leading state media outlets in the country. 

In addition to the job losses blamed on AI, the newspaper identified other problems facing employees, such as violations of personal rights through “distilling” white-collar skills.

For blue-collar labour such as couriers and drivers working for ride-hailing companies, it said the algorithms used by platforms also failed to provide adequate transparency on how they allocate orders and set unit prices, worsening inequality in the distribution of income.

The newspaper said AI adoption that aims solely at reducing the use of human labour should be approached with caution. Such decisions “should not be left entirely to market forces” and government authorities need to play a key role, it said. 

The Chinese government has reportedly started to warn employers, particularly tech companies, not to cut jobs as they adopt AI.

Court rulings in Beijing and Hangzhou have favored workers in such disputes and stated that companies are legally required to retrain or reassign workers before their employment can be terminated.

The country’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said earlier this year that it would roll out measures to address AI’s impact on employment. BLOOMBERG