A jobless future is coming, says China tech guru Kai-Fu Lee, and we must prepare now
The former Google China head and veteran technology investor also argues that the Chinese and Silicon Valley internet ecosystems are parallel universes and increasingly incompatible
He is more popular on social media than Madonna or Oprah Winfrey, but you might never have heard of him. Kai-Fu Lee has become the face of Chinese tech, his name synonymous with a country itching to take on the world.
Lee spent his formative years helping charter a path of innovation for companies such as Microsoft and Apple, but it was when he spearheaded a failed attempt to bring Google to China that everything changed for him. Lee left Google in 2009, to set up his own venture capital fund, Sinovation Ventures.
A profoundly influential character in China, Lee has accrued 50 million followers on microblogging site Weibo. The China he champions today is bristling with innovation, though the West often views it with trepidation.
But it is not China that, Lee believes, other countries should be worried about, and he wants to use his influence to prepare the world for the imminent AI revolution. By Lee’s estimates, automation will take up to 40 to 50 per cent of jobs globally, and governments need to be prepared.
Lee’s new book, AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order , was published in September.
What is the message in your book? “China’s success may [as some accusers claim] have to do with copying, but it has evolved into something as great as Silicon Valley. I don’t think I’m in a position to say which is greater. You have two completely differently developed systems. It’s like saying to someone: is air or water more important to you? Or are diamonds or gold more valuable?
