The Chinese government has initiated policy responses to address employment instability issues, such as large-scale layoffs that may arise from the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI).

According to Xinhua News Agency on the 24th, the General Office of the State Council released an "Opinion on Supporting the Construction of an Employment-Friendly Development Model Adapting to AI Technological Development" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinion") on the 16th and established an operational plan.

Consisting of a total of 18 articles, the "Opinion" states, "We must adhere to the close integration of physical and human investment, the synthesis of development and security, and the direction of prioritizing employment, with the goal of promoting high-quality and sufficient employment by adapting to technological development." It specifies, "We must effectively mitigate the impact of AI replacing employment and realize inclusive development where technological advancement, industrial upgrading, employment promotion, and the improvement of people's livelihoods are harmonized."

The General Office of the State Council stated, "We must strengthen the job-creation effect of AI," suggesting the direction of deploying core AI industries in the eastern region, while fostering industries such as data labeling or smart terminal manufacturing in the central and western regions according to their respective circumstances to increase employment.

It also ordered the promotion of startups for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) belonging to the AI industrial chain, and the expansion of new job categories and recruitment demands in the AI field, such as digital managers, AI engineers, and AI trainers.

Furthermore, to reduce employment instability issues that AI may trigger, the "Opinion" emphasized, "AI should play roles such as improving the employment environment, enhancing employment security levels, and raising work quality, and should be preferentially deployed and applied in jobs with labor shortages or high-risk environments." It stressed, "The scope, intensity, and speed of AI application in labor-intensive industries must be prudently regulated to minimize the shock to employees."

At the same time, it requested that companies be encouraged to establish an "unemployment buffer period" system, providing employment support—such as advance notice, transition, and reallocation—to workers affected during the process of large-scale AI deployment and application.

In addition, tasks were presented such as conducting AI employment training for young people including college graduates, rural migrant workers (migrant workers who moved from rural areas to cities to find jobs), and the unemployed; establishing labor rights protection systems conforming to "human-machine collaboration"; and devising income distribution mechanisms suited to AI development.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]