Huang Yiping, dean of the Institute of National Development at Peking University, said at the China Enterprise Future Star Annual Meeting that AI and digital technology may provide China with an opportunity that Japan did not have at the time, which could mitigate the impact the shortage of labor has on the economy. However, Huang also emphasized that deep thinking is required for how to find jobs and maintain a stable standard of living for the people who have been replaced by machines. "This is the inspiration that blue-collar youth in the United States have brought to us," he pointed out, adding that the replacement should be as smooth as possible, and both companies and governments have a responsibility to ensure this. "As companies, replacing (manual) labor with machines may be a progressive direction in the future, but you can't just make everyone lose their jobs overnight. This will cause public outrage," warned Huang, stressing on ensuring a smooth transition. (Insight Economy)