AI will create new jobs, not mass unemployment, HKUST professor says
At the Sing Tao Global Economic Summit 2026, HKUST Chair Professor Jia Jiaya argued that AI will not cause large-scale unemployment but will create new jobs. He cited history with computers and urged society to help people adapt to technological change.
The development of artificial intelligence will not cause large-scale unemployment despite profoundly shifting work patterns, but rather create numerous new jobs, maintained Jia Jiaya, Chair Professor of Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, on Friday at the Sing Tao Global Economic Summit 2026.
Jia, also SmartMore Founder and Chairman, admitted that some traditional jobs will be reshaped by technological iteration, but maintained that such does not equate to a shrinking job market, as new job opportunities related to AI applications, operations, and maintenance will emerge.
He reminded that society needs to consider how to help the public adapt to technological change and seize employment opportunities in this new era.
Jia looked back on history when computers became increasingly common, noting that while there was widespread concern that the workforce would be replaced by machines, computers significantly improved productivity and created various unprecedented new jobs.
Jia stated that industrial AI intelligent agents will enable machines to leap from ordinary machinery to intelligent robots, driving factories towards unmanned and intelligent production.
Looking forward, he expressed confidence that industrial AI will also become an important growth point for Hong Kong's innovation and technology industry.