Kai-Fu Lee has become the face of Chinese tech as his name is synonymous with a country that likes to take on the world. Now, he warned people should be prepared because a jobless future is possibly on the way.
Lee spent his years helping charter a path of innovation for companies such as Apple and Microsoft. However, when he failed to bring Google to China, everything changed on his life. In 2009, he left Google then he started his very own venture capital fund called Sinovation Ventures.
According to the South China Morning Post, Lee has 50 million followers on Weibo, which is a popular social media platform in China. He has already made innovations in the country, but the West still skeptical about this.
Lee believes that aside from China, we should also be worried about other countries. He wanted to use his influence so he can help the world to be prepared for the imminent AI revolution. He estimates that automation would likely take up to 40 to 50 percent of jobs worldwide, and governments should be prepared for this.
His new book, AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, was published in September. Lee said the message of his book is that the success of China may be a copying, but it is evolving 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?" he said.
According to him, both the Silicon Valley system and the Chinese system are of intrinsic value. These two could make a tremendous wealth and will be wildly successful even a century from now. But, Lee didn't project who will surpass whom as they work in parallel universes.
"The Chinese model is about building an incredibly high wall so that no one can replicate or start a price war. It's about detail orientation, operational excellence, having a huge market, having instantaneous feedback from the market, iterating so many times that it becomes innovative. And I think that is the spirit. I think the copying was the way it started," Lee explained.
He noted that the acceptance of Amazon, Google, and Facebook in Western countries has reinforced their market position, so it's difficult for Chinese companies to get in and compete.
"So that's why there are parallel universes that are both mutually self-reinforcing; the US and China. Two countries with separate, powerful brands, with loyalty and entry barriers. But I do think with emerging countries, China may have some advantages," he explained.
Chinese companies are making their way in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, particularly through partnerships and investments, and through expansion of the Chinese space. Hence, Lee thinks that Chinese international connections will have some reach.
He also discussed the issue regarding AI revolution and explained how the government should take this. He said that it's not actually imminent as the uptake will likely speed up in a couple of years as the technologies develop. But he noted that for many companies, "there are still technical and adaptive issues to be worked out."
What really happens when the technology becomes invasive in the society, taking all the blue-collar jobs? Lee said there are two important things here: creativity and compassion.
"Creativity speaks to policy on gifted and talented education, letting people specialize early and follow their passion, so they can maximize their impact in their area of creativity," he said.
However, that's only a small percentage of people and it doesn't solve the job issue. Hence, compassion is also required.
"So compassion becomes the only solution. By compassion, I mean in a broader sense. I mean being able to want to relate to a person. These would be jobs like nannies, teachers, nurses, social workers, psychiatrists - the jobs that require a large amount of human interaction."
Looking at the positive side, Lee said that if we look 80 years into the future, it's a blessing that routine jobs are being taken care of by machines. This will help us to do what we're good at and what we love. But first, we need to consider the next 25 years, which is a very challenging transition on the horizon.
