Speaker: Lihui Zhang, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School

In this study group, led by M-RCBG Senior Fellow Lihui Zhang, we will explore how Chinese society demonstrates a distinctive duality in its approach to emerging technologies like AI, combining both enthusiastic adoption and underlying anxiety. While American and European companies increasingly restrict employee access to AI tools due to security concerns, Chinese organizations have embraced such technologies nearly universally across workplaces.

Paradoxically, this widespread integration occurs alongside growing public apprehension about workforce displacement. Many Chinese workers express genuine concern that AI will eventually replace human labor, creating a complex emotional landscape of excitement and fear. This tension reflects broader global conversations about technological advancement and economic transformation in the AI era. China’s unique societal response to technology is precisely what makes it a potential testing ground for how humanity can address the challenges of AI.