China: Court prohibits dismissal due to AI
In China, an employee was to receive less pay after an AI took over his job – then he was fired. A court has now prohibited this.
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In China, a court has ruled that employees cannot be dismissed because AI technology is taking over their jobs. This is reported by Bloomberg, citing a ruling from the eastern Chinese metropolis of Hangzhou. In the specific case, it concerned a quality assurance expert at a technology company who was responsible for checking the accuracy of large language models' results. When an AI system also took over his tasks, he was to be demoted and his salary cut by 40 percent. However, he did not want to accept this, after which he was dismissed. He then took the case to court and was successful.
AI not a valid reason for dismissal
The dismissal grounds put forward by the company do not fall under the negative circumstances that allow for declaring the impossibility of continuing an employment contract, Bloomberg quotes. These include, for example, general staff reductions or operational difficulties. However, companies cannot unilaterally dismiss employees or cut wages solely due to technological progress. The ruling also refers to the decision of another court, which had already established these standards in December, thereby strengthening the rights of employees.
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The financial news service also puts the ruling into a broader context, explaining that authorities in the People's Republic are currently trying to balance labor market stabilization with the AI race. China is one of the pioneers in adopting AI technology. Recently, there were even warnings that people are being too careless when using the powerful AI bot OpenClaw. Fears that the AI hype could have dramatic consequences for the labor market were particularly loud at its beginning. However, things have become a bit quieter recently.
(mho)
