Artificial intelligence is set to replace some workers in their roles, but humans still have an edge over the machines in areas such as strategic planning. （Photo provided to China Daily）
The rapidly expanding industry offers excellent career prospects
Li Shuangying said she has high hopes that her 18-year-old son, who just took this year's college entrance exam, will become a professional in the artificial intelligence field.
She said he always has been one of the top students in his class at one of the leading high schools in Zhongshan, Guangdong province.
Zhongshan, which neighbors Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital, has been one of China's pioneering cities in embracing reform and opening-up. It thrived on labor-intensive industries, but recent rising labor shortages and costs have become a real threat.
In response, local manufacturers have been quick to embrace automation and adopt AI-assisted robots for survival.
The company Li works for, a medium-sized home appliance manufacturer with annual output of about 1 billion yuan ($150 million), is no exception. Li said she used to bring her son to her workplace from time to time, and he has developed a strong interest in AI, automation and robots.
"We (the family) all agree that AI is the trend, and it holds great potential for future development," Li said.
That view is shared by many prospective college students and their parents, who consider AI a desirable major.
Progressing at a dizzying pace, the sector presents rosy career prospects as China has the ambition to become a leading AI power by 2030.
Some experts have pointed out it holds an inherent attraction for the millennial generation, whose coming of age has coincided with the AI technology boom and its increasing penetration into every aspect of daily life.
As a result, AI has become one of the most sought-after majors among prospective college students across the country.
Many believe the increasing interest in AI education will greatly boost China's ability to produce specialized AI talent. Many others, however, are more cautious, warning against possible pitfalls brought by the "great leap in AI education". They say this has resulted in a worrying trend of resorting to such education.
Great prospect
Featuring machine simulation of human intelligence, including learning, reasoning and self-correction, AI, which is developing with robotics and virtual reality, has been considered a transformative business force globally.
Given the nation's focus on innovation, China aims to develop into a leading AI power by 2030 based on the surge in AI investments from domestic internet companies and others. Last July, the government issued the country's New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, which envisions China's economy, military and society invigorated and empowered by artificial intelligence.
Accelerating the education of top AI talent has also been listed as a primary task in the plan, with the development of AI resulting in a strong demand for talent well-versed in this technology. According to China's leading online recruitment company Zhaopin, AI algorithm engineers were the positions most in demand last year, followed by database development engineers.
In response to the national strategy, the Ministry of Education in April issued the AI Innovation Action Plan for Colleges and Universities. The plan envisions Chinese colleges and universities becoming the global frontiers in AI and hotbeds of AI talent by 2030, while 50 world-class AI textbooks, 50 national-level high-quality online AI courses and 50 AI research centers will be established by 2020.
Expectations ran high among prospective high school students and their parents early this year when many universities across the country set up new AI and related majors, and even AI research schools. At least 19 universities, most of them among the country's most prestigious, have added AI engineering as a new major for their undergraduate students, and the number is expected to reach 50 over the next two years.
