In the past few years, artificial intelligence has advanced so quickly that it now seems hardly a month goes by without a newsworthy AI breakthrough. In areas as wide-ranging as speech translation, medical diagnosis, and gameplay, we have seen computers outperform humans in startling ways. This has sparked a discussion about how AI will impact employment. Some fear that as AI improves, it will supplant workers, creating an ever-growing pool of unemployable humans who cannot compete economically with machines. This concern, while understandable, is unfounded.

AI and related technologies such as robots, drones and autonomous vehicles could provide a net boost to employment in China of around 12% over the next two decades, equating to around 90 million additional jobs. Around 26% of existing jobs in China could be automated over the next 20 years, but this is projected to be more than offset by job creation of 38%, giving an estimated net gain of 12%. Services ( 29%) and construction ( 23%) could see the largest net increases in jobs by 2037 in China, offset by estimated net job losses of around 10% in agriculture. PwC estimates that the boost from AI and related technologies to economic growth in China could create millions of new jobs, more than offsetting displacement of existing jobs. But the report argues there is no room for complacency given the projected scale of disruption to the labor market from these technologies. This new analysis for China contrasts with PwC's earlier research suggesting a broadly neutral net impact of AI and related technologies on jobs in the UK.

The research found that while AI could displace roughly seven million jobs in the country, it could also create 7.2 million roles, resulting in a modest net boost of around 200,000 jobs. It has also estimated that about 20 percent of jobs would be automated over the next 20 years and no sector would be unaffected. Technologies such as robotics, drones and driverless vehicles would replace human workers in some areas, but also create many additional jobs as productivity and real incomes rise and new and better products are developed. In the health and social work sector the number of people employed could rise by almost one million, while jobs in manufacturing could fall by roughly 25 percent, a net loss of almost 700,000 roles. "Major new technologies, from steam engines to computers, displace some existing jobs but also generate large productivity gains," PwC's Chief Economist John Hawksworth said in a press release.