In March 2017, Premier Li Keqiang delivered the State Council’s 2017 government work report, in which he raised the promotion of emerging industries including artificial intelligence (AI), and “AI” was written into the national government work report for the first time. In July, the State Council issued the “New Generation AI Development Plan”, raising AI to a national strategic level. It stated that by 2030, China’s AI theory, technology and applications will reach an advanced global level. China has achieved remarkable results in becoming a leading global AI innovation center, a smart economy and a smart society. As Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent (BAT) have entered the AI industry, it has seen an injection of capital and an entrepreneurial boom. AI has become a focus of attention in China’s political, economic and academic fields. In 2017, AI in China started a new chapter.

The transformative impact of AI on all industries is indisputable, as is its effect on the labor market. Since the first industrial revolution in the early 19th century, not only has technology largely replaced manual labor, leading to changes in the employment structure and nature of work worldwide, but it has also created new job opportunities. So will AI benefit the labor market in the next decade and beyond, or will it change the labor market and replace us?

This report looks at the prospects of AI applications by examining the status quo and future trends of AI technology. It focuses on analyzing the use cases of AI technology in the financial industry and the impact of these technologies on employment. It will concentrate on the banking, insurance and capital markets[1] as three major industry value chains to measure the possible impact of AI on the job market in these industries. Finally, it will discuss the changes in employment demand and talent requirements in the AI era.

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[1] Capital markets in this report refer to institutional client businesses in the securities industry.