https://www.scmp.com/rss/525490/feed Emma Zang is a non-resident fellow on Chinese society at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Centre for China Analysis and an associate professor of sociology, biostatistics and global affairs at Yale University. She studies how demographic change and technological transformation shape inequality, with a focus on China. Her work has appeared in leading academic journals and major media outlets. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Emma Zang Emma Zang China is betting artificial intelligence will solve its labour shortage, as policymakers ramp up a nationwide push to deploy AI and robotics across the economy. But it may be worsening a different problem: the erosion of stable jobs for young workers. China’s push has accelerated investment in industrial automation, installing more than half of the world’s robots in 2024 alone and doubling down on AI-enabled production. The strategy is presented as a necessary response to the demographic... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347386/why-chinas-ai-automation-push-risky-social-experiment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347386/why-chinas-ai-automation-push-risky-social-experiment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:30:10 +0000