With the launch of DeepSeek, the Chinese authorities have vigorously promoted the application of AI (Artificial Intelligence), sparking a wave of AI applications from private enterprises to local governments. Analysts indicate that widespread use of AI will inevitably bring about a significant amount of unemployment and changes in industrial structure, causing a massive impact on Chinese society.
On the 20th, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang proposed to vigorously promote technology consumption and unleash the consumption potential of AI terminal products. On the 24th, Chinese state media published an article by Chinese Academy of Sciences academic Gao Wen, stating the need to “seize” the historical opportunity for AI development and win the initiative in global technological competition.
Since 2017, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been laying out its AI development plans, and last year, “AI+” action was included in the government report, making the development of “AI+” one of the CCP’s important tasks for this year.
Following its introduction, DeepSeek briefly gained popularity but soon faced a series of negative reports. Due to the support from the CCP, DeepSeek raised concerns abroad. On February 17th, South Korea became the second country after Italy to fully ban the downloading of the DeepSeek application. The U.S. Navy, government agencies in Texas and Taiwan, as well as Australia’s government agencies, have also banned the use of DeepSeek. France and Ireland have requested explanations regarding data processing issues.
According to relevant data, as of June 2024, there were over 4,500 AI enterprises in China. By December 31, 2024, 302 generative AI services were registered with the CCP Cyberspace Administration, with a user base of 249 million for generative AI products. Generative AI has been widely used in various fields such as creative writing, enterprise operations, technology research and development, and industrial production.
Regarding China’s development in artificial intelligence, independent writer Zhu Ge Mingyang told Epoch Times that in competition with the United States, the CCP’s reckless and manic behavior in AI development is bound to bring huge trouble upon itself.
He stated that the CCP is now aiming to popularize AI in almost every field using the momentum of DeepSeek, implementing the “Great Leap Forward” of AI, which will inevitably have a huge impact on China’s industrial structure and job market.
Lin Zongnan, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at National Taiwan University, believes that the CCP’s release of DeepSeek during the tenure of Trump is a strategic move. He told Epoch Times, “On the surface, it is promoting a private enterprise, but in reality, it is extolling the CCP itself. DeepSeek is the Huawei version of AI, backed by the Chinese government.”
Peng Wensheng, Chief Economist and Head of Research at China International Capital Corporation, wrote in July last year that AI will increase China’s annual growth rate by an additional 0.8 percentage points over the next decade. However, this may exacerbate income inequality, leading to insufficient overall demand, and the development of humanoid robots will bring about technological unemployment.
Recently, netizens revealed on social media platforms that the government affairs hall in Shenzhen has officially deployed over 70 robots covering more than 240 services. This implies that in the near future, many government affairs halls may become completely unmanned.
It has been reported by Chinese media that hospitals in Guangxi, Guangdong, and other regions have begun deploying localized applications of DeepSeek. On February 17th, the Guangdong Province Maternal and Child Health Hospital Online Hospital launched the DeepSeek intelligent consultation. The AI “Xiao Yue Doctor” can handle common symptom inquiries, provide tiered medical advice, and alleviate outpatient pressure. “Xiao Yue Doctor” adopts a model of “one large model for consultation plus N small models for intelligent diagnosis,” building a multi-intelligent body collaborative AI platform covering triage, auxiliary diagnosis, and health management to provide health services to women and children.
As a result, many people lament that the next disappearing industry will be doctors.
In addition, Chinese automobile manufacturers, telecommunications operators, securities firms, and other enterprises have also announced the use of DeepSeek in their operations. Some companies have started using AI to achieve “machine replacement of human,” resulting in large-scale layoffs.
In early February, a screenshot of an internal group chat at Shanghai Shang Mei Cosmetics Co., Ltd. was leaked online. The image shows Chairman and CEO Lu Yixiong issuing instructions for layoffs to all departments, retaining only those who can be replaced by AI. The layoff rate in the customer service department is as high as 95%, 80% in the content innovation department, and 50% in the legal department, among others.
With the Chinese economy sharply declining, widespread use of AI will inevitably lead to a significant increase in the already high unemployment rate. It is generally believed that the top ten professions in China most affected by AI are: customer service representatives, data entry clerks, warehouse and logistics workers, manufacturing workers, financial analysts, medical diagnosticians, legal assistants and lawyers, marketing and advertising professionals, translators and interpreters, taxi and truck drivers.
Lin Zongnan stated that the Beijing government’s call for all industries to use AI will undoubtedly result in the elimination of a large number of personnel. This group will find it hard to avoid being phased out unless they possess other skills for competition in new industries, especially in traditional fields like customer service.
During an interview with Epoch Times, Zeng Yishuo, Deputy Researcher at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies Network Security Institute, pointed out that China’s extensive use of AI will inevitably lead to structural unemployment. “Unless there are secure placements or acceptance of vocational training to adapt to the related job types and required skills in the AI era.”
Veteran media figure Shi Shan told Epoch Times that after the rise of e-commerce giants like Alibaba, a large number of traditional physical stores went bankrupt, especially those located in rural areas, unable to compete with e-commerce, leading to their downfall and causing many to lose their livelihoods. If e-commerce further utilizes artificial intelligence, it will create a huge impact on the structure of the Chinese economy, bringing various issues to society.
According to Zeng Yishuo, the reason the CCP is vigorously promoting AI is “because AI affects the CCP’s entire strategic layout, so it cannot fall behind and is thus vigorously promoting it.”
Lin Zongnan further stated that data, computing power, and models form the “golden triangle” of AI. The CCP “is currently promoting the use of AI in all walks of life, and one of the goals is to control the data of different industries, establish an advantage, and make up for the lack of computing power.”
However, multiple pieces of evidence confirm that DeepSeek has “plagiarized” technology from OpenAI in the United States. Furthermore, due to security concerns surrounding DeepSeek, many Western countries have banned its use. Additionally, under strict control by the United States, the large number of high-end chips acquired by DeepSeek has become a concern for the U.S. government. The Trump administration will further tighten export controls on Chinese semiconductors to restrict their development in high technology, artificial intelligence, and military fields.
Akio Yaita, Executive Director of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank and a senior media figure in Japan, told Epoch Times that in such a dictatorial regime as the CCP, without freedom of thought and academia, it is difficult to have innovation in cutting-edge technology fields, with most being fake or imitations of achievements from Western countries like the United States.
Yaita stated that DeepSeek has limited functionality and is difficult to gain people’s trust. Additionally, from a geopolitical perspective, the confrontation between the United States and China has become structural and increasingly intense, with the U.S. imposing strict restrictions on high-tech products from China. As a result, artificial intelligence involving personal privacy, national secrets, and other sensitive information will have extremely limited survival space.