China Must Prevent Mass Job Cuts From AI, Policy Adviser Says

China must balance developing artificial intelligence with preventing widespread lay-offs, according to a government adviser, who warned failure to do so could cause social unrest.

Policymakers should carefully design tools to respond to the grave challenge posed by AI, said Shan Zhiguang, a researcher at the State Information Center, a think tank affiliated with the nation’s top economic planning agency. One idea scholars, including those in China, have floated is a “robot tax” to transfer companies’ gains from AI usage to disadvantaged workers to address the issue, he added.

“We cannot pursue efficiency at the expense ...