AI to Seize 50% of Jobs by 2017, Ex-Google China Chief Warns

AI will replace 50% of jobs by 2027, predicts venture capitalist and ex-Google China chief Kai-Fu Lee, emphasizing rapid tech advancements.

In 2017, Kai-Fu Lee made the first prediction that AI would replace at least 50% of all human occupations, a position he has maintained since. For instance, he noted in a 2018 interview with IEEE Spectrum that AI will still replace about half of us in the workforce even though humans have numerous abilities and skills that AI was unlikely to match.

Kai-Fu Lee stated that “most jobs are repetitive,” citing “fruit picking, assembly-line work, truck driving, telemarketing, dishwashing, and so on.”

He continued expressing his opinion that artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually overtake electricity and the internet as a critical technology.

In a recent interview with Fortune, he reiterated his statements when asked if he believed the forecast would still be relevant in 2024.

According to the interview, Kai-Fu Lee indicated that his forecast was still accurate:

It’s remarkably accurate. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, I received criticism for being overly assertive, even though I felt a little uneasy then. However, after the release of Gen AI, everyone has jumped on board and is moving at the right pace.

Kai-Fu Lee has one of the most impressive resumes of any tech figure. Before establishing Microsoft Research Asia and serving as its director, he was an executive at Apple. He joined Google as vice president and head of Google China after his tour with the Redmond business.

He is the founder and chairman of Sinovation Ventures, a venture capital fund devoted to creating international tech goods and services, as of May 2024. In addition, he founded 01.AI, an AI firm that emphasizes creating goods and services for the Chinese market.

Against the backdrop of his conviction that China will eventually surpass the rest of the world in artificial intelligence technology, Kai-Fu Lee makes predictions of AI.