China opens hearts and minds to artificial intelligence at work

Source: China Daily

One out of three adults in China works for companies that have deployed artificial intelligence, known as AI, in the workplace, and the majority of Chinese employees believe AI has a positive impact on their jobs and wellbeing, according to a new survey.

The United States-based Boston Consulting Group’s Gamma division, which researches machine learning, found that the deployment of AI in the workplace was more common in China than in the six other countries surveyed, which were France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada and the US.

The survey, which interviewed 1,000 people in each nation, found that 31 percent of respondents in China are already using tools and applications enabled by AI, versus 26 percent in Canada, which has the second-highest level of workplace deployment. The US and the UK registered 24 percent and 20 percent respectively, while in Spain the figure is 18 percent, compared to 16 percent in France and 15 percent in Germany.

Veronique Yang, who leads BCG Gamma operations in China, identified three core reasons behind China’s rapid emergence as an AI powerhouse: digital maturity, industry participation, and government support.