Jack Ma: In 30 years, the best CEO could be a robot
Jack Ma: In 30 years, the best CEO could be a robot
by Sherisse Pham April 24, 2017: 4:49 AM ET
Even top tech executives think they could be replaced by
robots one day.
Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma, the man Fortune
Magazine just named one of the world's great leaders, predicts that technology
will make many CEOs irrelevant in the not-too-distant future.
"In 30 years, a robot will likely be on the cover of
Time Magazine as the best CEO," Ma said in a speech over the weekend at an
entrepreneurship conference in central China. And he warned of dark times ahead
for people who are unprepared for the upheaval technology is set to bring.
"In the next three decades, the world will
experience far more pain than happiness," the billionaire said, adding
that education systems must raise children to be more creative and curious or
they will be ill-prepared for the future.
Robots are quicker and more rational than humans, Ma
said, and they don't get bogged down in emotions -- like getting angry at
competitors.
But he expressed optimism that robots will make life
better for humans in the long run.
"Machines will do what human beings are incapable of
doing," Ma said. "Machines will partner and cooperate with humans,
rather than become mankind's biggest enemy."
That's a more relaxed outlook than that of another global
tech leader, Elon Musk. The Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX CEO said in 2014 that
artificial intelligence is the greatest existential threat to humans, and he's
now hoping to harness it in a way that will benefit society.
Ma's remarks come as Alibaba continues to expand beyond
its main e-commerce business. The company is a leading provider of cloud
computing that has been pushing the power of big data and has expanded into
digital media.
Ma predicts that technology will eventually create a
problem plenty of office workers would love to have: a shorter work week.
"In 10 or 20 years, people will work less than four
hours a day, maybe three days a week," he predicted. With less time spent
working, he said, we will question how to live.
-- Nanlin Fang contributed to this report.
CNNMoney (Hong Kong) First published April 24, 2017: 4:49
AM ET
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