China's AI jobs plan: 18 tasks to pace AI rollouts and protect workers
Why it matters
The General Office of China's State Council has issued guidelines on making AI adoption employment-friendly, setting out 18 tasks in six areas (published Oct 23). AI should be deployed first in jobs that are short of workers or hazardous, while in labour-intensive industries the scope, intensity and pace of AI use should be managed prudently to minimise the impact on workers. Companies are encouraged to explore an "unemployment buffer period": telling affected workers in advance during large-scale AI rollouts and supporting them into new roles. AI application projects in market-access areas that could cause a major shock to jobs get an employment risk assessment during review. The plan also expands new occupations such as AI trainers, AI engineering technicians and digital managers, offers AI training for college graduates and other young people, migrant workers and unemployed people, targets algorithm abuse in HR (job discrimination, fake recruitment, privacy and rest-rights violations), and brings AI job risks into China's mechanism for preventing large-scale unemployment. Caveat: these are guidelines for government bodies; the buffer period is encouraged, not mandated.
Read the source: State Council of China (gov.cn) (opens in a new tab)
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