Alibaba’s Jack Ma warned the society of more pain in the coming decades, pointing to the Internet causing disruptions in the economy.
In his speech at an entrepreneurship conference held in Zhengzhou, China, on Sunday, Ma said that the world must revolutionize education systems and determine how to utilize robots to help in alleviating the effects of automation and the Internet economy.
“In the next 30 years, the world will see much more pain than happiness,” Ma said, discussing the job disruptions brought about by the Internet.
“Social conflicts in the next three decades will have an impact on all sorts of industries and walks of life,” he added.
Alibaba, the top e-commerce operator in China, invests billions of dollars in a wide range of new businesses, including film production and video streaming. Last year, online media and cloud computing became among Alibaba’s fast-growing businesses.
Alibaba purchased a controlling stake in Lazada Group to increase the company’s presence in Southeast Asia, likely to form a clash with Amazon.com and other e-commerce companies.
Ma also criticized the traditional banking industry, stating that more members of the society should be given access to lending services.
This year, Alibaba shares have surpassed expectations that the firm can resist the efforts of its competitors like Tencent Holdings Ltd. in securing digital ad spending and muscling on its turf. The e-commerce giant is also looking into untapped rural markets and investing in new businesses.
Ma also appealed to traditional industries to halt criticisms on the effects of the Internet on the economy, saying that Alibaba critics disregarded the fact that Taobao has provided employment to millions.
Longer lifespans and the advancements in artificial intelligence would probably result in both aging labor forces and less available jobs, he warned.
“Machines should only do what humans cannot,” Ma said, adding, “Only in this way can we have the opportunities to keep machines as working partners with humans, rather than as replacements.”
Alibaba’s Jack Ma continues to push for education reforms so as to address the concerns brought about by the Internet economy.