Billionaire Jack Ma, booster of 12-hour days, now says AI will allow 12-hour weeks

Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba, has vigorously endorsed China's grueling "996" culture, or working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week. But now he has an even bolder vision for the future of work thanks to artificial intelligence: the 12-hour workweek. In the future, people may end up working only three days a week, with only four hours of work per day, Ma said at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on Thursday, according to Bloomberg News. In Ma's view, the development of AI could free humanity to partake in activities other than work, with the entrepreneur comparing AI with the advent of electricity. "The power of electricity is that we make people more time so that you can go to karaoke or dancing party in the evening. I think because of artificial intelligence, people will have more time enjoying being human beings," he said, Bloomberg reported.