As AI takes over more jobs, optimism remains in gaming and other creative industries
- Automation is replacing many jobs involving repetitive tasks, but experts have hope for creative industries like entertainment, video games and design
- Clerical work could end up being the hardest hit by automation in the next decade, according to PwC
While many people may have been too busy staring at screens from 9am to 6pm every day to notice, a quiet revolution has started in workplaces around the world. Automation aided by artificial intelligence has increasingly been taking over more aspects of workers’ jobs in recent years, and pundits have warned for years that this shift could lead to social upheaval.
But not everyone is so pessimistic.
Just as ancient Greek and Roman elites once relied on slave labour while spending their time on more leisurely pursuits, many workers today could soon see a rise in their own free time as repetitive work is outsourced to machines, according to Witman Hung, a technology industry veteran and Hong Kong deputy to China’s 13th National People’s Congress.
“Maybe we will be working 15 hours a week and spending our time on better things such as playing games and thinking about philosophy,” Hung said on Wednesday during a panel discussion about automation and the future of job opportunities organised by the South China Morning Post.