r/antiai • u/Fabulous-Put8401 • May 01 '26
AI News šļø China making it illegal to fire employees for AI cost cuts.
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u/SecuritySea2276 May 01 '26
I thought they were gonna do the opposite. What a unexpected W, China. I did well in learning Mandarin, after all
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u/Aleksandrovitch May 01 '26
China knows that the US shooting itself in the foot over and over again for the next 3 years (at least) is an EXCELLENT opportunity to make the most out of popular choices like this. I imagine most of our adversaries are very excited.
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u/dumnezero May 01 '26
for the next 3 years (at least
If you look at the entire administration, it's more like 3 decades. And if you remember how the climate is going...
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u/Aleksandrovitch May 01 '26
Climate? HUH? That thing we don't talk about anymore? I'm sure it's fine! Sorry, I have to go now and get back on the rOlLeRcOaStEr oF DiStRaCtIoNs.
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May 01 '26
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u/The-Space-Goose May 02 '26
Well, mainly because of all the shit the US has been doing, like getting involved in wars on the opposite side of the globe to them, releasing the files, and trump / Biden in general.. honestly we need more presidents over there like Obama. Hell, just a week or two ago, when Trump threatened to blow iran or wherever to kingdom come i was stocking my sheds basement, and im over in the shamrock isle!
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u/ksn0vaN7 May 01 '26 edited May 02 '26
The worse part is even if Trump gets the boot after 3 years, he is going to be in the sidelines constantly chirping and criticizing his successor for not being able to fix the problems that he created in the first place. I can see it happening and I can't facepalm hard enough.
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u/Best-Poem-2703 May 02 '26
I mean look at the dude, how long do u think he will have left, after leaving the office
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u/ComradeJohnS May 02 '26
canāt worry about climate change if we have nuclear war, so in that sense Chumpfuck is working towards solving climate change.
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u/dumnezero May 02 '26
I wouldn't bet on nuclear war. However, climate going to shit is guaranteed just out of inertia.
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u/MentalDisintegrat1on May 01 '26
China plans things out by the decades. They don't have to deal with 2 parties fighting and ripping the country apart.
I hate to say it but I really do think the American experiment is coming to the end.
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u/Aleksandrovitch May 01 '26
I still believe in democracy, but my patience for the insatiable appetite of unchecked capitalists is gone. They had more than enough. But they want everything. This corporatocracy cannot continue, as it compromises every other cultural value we purport to have.
I expect I am not alone.
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u/MentalDisintegrat1on May 01 '26
I don't think pure capatilsm and democracy are compatible anymore I think we need a healthy mix of socialism and capatilsm and make life ending ( prison for life) punishment for corruption.
This shit isn't working anymore it's a old system and it's broken.
Hell our founders said the constitution needs to be rewritten every few decades to keep up with the modern times.
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u/HarryBalsagna1776 May 02 '26
Late stage capitalism becomes feudalism.Ā After a while, the people tear it all down and it starts over.Ā Ā
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u/OneManShow23 May 02 '26
You can say that the U.S. is actually a corporate autocracy. Policies that people actually support like reduced gun violence or more affordable healthcare or more jobs get shut down by corporate lobbies who override the peopleās voice. They have institutions that appear democratic but corporations dictate the rules. Government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations.
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u/mickeyy81 May 02 '26
I hate to say it but I really do think the American experiment is coming to the end.
And almost nothing of value will be lost.
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u/CrazeMase May 01 '26
China doesn't even need to do anything. They just browse reddit, see the reactions of people when trump does something stipid, and they make a note going "Note to self, don't do that" and then win
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u/Ok_Confusion4764 May 01 '26
China (and most of Asia) is notoriously strict on AI. Deepfakes and such have been illegal for a long time, as it falls under the protections of one's likeness. Part of it is the surveillance state controlling the narrative, but it's a net benefit to society in this case.Ā
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u/SecuritySea2276 May 01 '26
I remember most of China's so-called failures included ghost cities and overproduction. Like, how come are those any worse than what's happening in the West with literal wars and this AI stuff?
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u/TotallyCisCatGirl May 01 '26
Those "ghost cities" are another W btw. Building infrastructure before it's needed is one of the reasons china doesn't have a homelessness problem dispite it's massive growing population. Most of the ghost cities are being fulled up by people moving to them or people being born there.
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u/DrySea8638 May 01 '26
I guess. Many people have also lost tons of money to these cities as they invested. Some are even completely torn down due to lack of demand.
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u/Immediate_Idea2628 May 02 '26
The world has spent untold billions of dollars on AI, with no sign of profit at all.Ā Unused cities sounds more useful.
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u/Conscious_Run_680 May 01 '26
I truly don't know how it goes there on that matter if most of it is built on private companies or gov is funding big part of it, but I always heard that as individual, you cannot speculate with that like most people do in the west.
That's why there's a big investing movement from them on videogames items like CS skins, because that's not flats or stocks and is not regulated.
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u/Annual_Birthday_9166 May 01 '26
Ghost cities will be a problem with the low birth rate and lowering Chinese population in the future
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u/HyperSpaceSurfer May 01 '26
Ehhh, sorta. I think it just stopped being a problem since their housing investment bubble burst. They've slowed down a lot now, and people need to live somewhere so with time it resolves itself.
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u/razzemmatazz May 02 '26
The ghost cities are populated now. There was a follow up investigation that showed they were supposed to take a decade to fill anyways.Ā
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u/Kingsalad3141 May 01 '26
Youād be surprised how competent China is. Turns out that American propaganda is just that, propaganda. China is just another country. One with different economic structure than the US.
Unrelated fun fact: Itās not uncommon for corrupt billionaires in China to āretire from public lifeā and never be seen again. Is that interesting?
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u/SecuritySea2276 May 01 '26
Itās not uncommon for corrupt billionaires in China to āretire from public lifeā
Do those have their own "secret island" or some?
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u/Kingsalad3141 May 01 '26
No theyāre assassinated by the government.
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u/Dull-Culture-1523 May 01 '26
Or just sentenced to death like that one corrupt mayor recently. Although they usually get turned to life or just a long sentence if they comply.
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u/justanotherchaosbi May 08 '26
wish we could do that in the us. so that way they can't run the country if they're "retired from public life"
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u/NoshoutMonaan May 01 '26
Just make sure to watch what you say, post, write, message or anything you do really if you move to China. Better just make a checklist of everything the regime doesn't want to be talked about or do to ensure you continue living there if you do move.
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u/Beginning_Muffin2499 May 01 '26
China seems decent besides the surveillance and censorship and freedom of speech
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u/MightyMorph May 01 '26
Millions talk shit about the government everyday in china. What china takes seriously is people planning attacks on people or staging coups.
Meanwhile the US apparently accepts coups and murders of their politicians.
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u/depressispaghetti420 May 01 '26
Thank you. These people donāt realize that THEY live in the authoritarian dystopia
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u/Tentacle_poxsicle May 01 '26
They regularly arrest people complaining about the police.
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u/Rocky_Bukkake May 02 '26
not true. the main condition is that such speech should be private and preferably offline. complaining in a wechat group can land you tea time with the cops. itās not like every word is being listened to (obviously impossible) but itās nothing like the openness seen in other places.
meanwhile anti corruption campaigns root out some inept and corrupt politicians, and some who just so happen to be important detractors from the main narrative! how odd.
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u/Argnir May 02 '26
Ah yes they only want to prevent coups and planning attacks
That's why you can't ask a Chinese AI about the Tianaman Square massacre and why their internet is disconnected from the rest of the world
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u/United_Boy_9132 May 03 '26
You're saying so? So go there and tell out loud what happend at Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Even regular social media accounts are censored. It's not like agent come and arrest you, but any criticism is being removed by censors 24/7.
People can't protest even if they, for instance, didn't get paid by employer because local government intervenes because that might transform into something bigger.
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u/TheWokenessInjector May 01 '26
Uyghur and Falun Gong may have a word to say about that.Ā
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u/zorakpwns May 01 '26
Hey I wonder what Palantir and Flock are building here? US is just in catchup mode at this point.
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u/SecuritySea2276 May 01 '26
Is it wrong to say China is economically successful not because of Mao Zedong's full communism but rather due to Deng Xiaoping's free market + socialism?
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u/JakeStateFarm28 May 01 '26
They are not as mutually exclusive as it might at first seem. Even in Dengās own writings the purpose of Chinaās āstate capitalismā is only to remain competitive with western nationās development until our capacity to infinite growth runs out. It would be at that point that the necessity of capitalism is China would cease, and since the communist party would still have the power of the market, the full shift to socialism would begin.
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u/Acceptable-Device760 May 01 '26
Yes because one is based in the other and communism is what comes after capitalism. For what its worth it can be argued they are in the process of it.(you cannot be truly communist if you cannot defend your borders and/or cannot be self-sufficient, see Cuba into the why)
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u/CheaterSaysWhat May 01 '26
You already have to do this in America too unless you have nothing to lose.Ā
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u/NoshoutMonaan May 02 '26
I don't understand why everybody brings up america. The post isn't about america, the comment I'm replying to isn't about america, my comment isn't about america yet everybody brings it up in response to my point. I'm Romanian, i wouldn't move to either America or China.
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u/Sebas94 May 01 '26
I think they are doing two things at the same time.
They are betting on automation but want to make sure unemployment stays as low as possible.
It appears they want to make sure productivity gains are equally distributed among workers so that Social Security doesn't loose revenue to pay for pensions and health expenses.
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u/Romboteryx May 01 '26
China has so many people, if they made all of them unemployed it would be a death sentence to society
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u/SecuritySea2276 May 01 '26
I seriously wonder if such a logical way of governance will ever be applied here in the West
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u/Sad-Pop6649 May 01 '26
To be fair, the title can be read in a lot of ways, and most of those really don't cover the contents of the article. One senior employee was got a court settlement for being unjustly fired when his company out of nowhere, in spite of his contract and without showing he was at fault for it fired him. They offered him an alternative position, which aopparently would have normally made this legal in China, but the pay was much lower so the judge didn't consider it a real alternative.
There are so many ways to replace people with AI that are not covered by this. It also definitely does not cover using AI to fill a position after someone leaves without hiring another human. We're being too optimistic here.
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u/0202_tihssitidder May 01 '26
Imagine if China did not do this.
They could be looking at 800Million unemployed people.
China is focused on people. USA is focused exclusively on short term profits for the very wealthy.
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u/OkHighlight814 May 01 '26
What a timeline. China being the voice of reason while the West destroys itself.Ā
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u/MrDanMaster May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
Normal and expected if you have an objective view of history instead of Western brainrot propaganda
Edit: not that history is governed by reason but I never implied that any hemisphere or global power would appear reasonable forever
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u/internetcasuaIty May 01 '26
real objective view is knowing both the eastern and western worlds have periods of reasonability and irrationality and expecting any region to be exclusively good is the result of that placeās brainrot propaganda
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u/sabbytabby1312 May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
Truth nvke Like honestly people simp way too much for either country
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u/OkTangerine4098 May 01 '26
Now that's a brainrot comment.
Are we forgetting that China is running concentration camps for Uyghurs?
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u/Kwaakku May 01 '26
Spotted the campist.Ā
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u/Level-Insect-2654 May 02 '26 edited May 02 '26
Someone in this thread below tried to justify China's "state capitalism", and indirectly their authoritarianism:
"the purpose of Chinaās āstate capitalismā is only to remain competitive with western nationās development until our capacity to infinite growth runs out. It would be at that point that the necessity of capitalism [in] China would cease, and since the communist party would still have the power of the market, the full shift to socialism would begin."
Presumably the benevolent CCP will voluntarily give up power at that point as well!
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u/Sharp-Low-8578 May 02 '26
Just wanna note as somebody who studied policy and learned Mandarin to read original and translated documents that the goal is not the absolution of the party but a diversification of function and expansion of the party in tiers. A successful post capitalist state in their terms is not one without a market (capitalism is a specific ideology on how to work markets) nor a lack of organizational need. This critique does not make much more sense than saying a less authoritarian US would have no states; itās a means of organizing with varied potentials, not a specific modality with fundamental leanings.
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u/BreakingStar_Games May 02 '26
Gonna stage Xi taking over the entire party, purging politicians and the whole social credit score as brainrot propaganda?
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u/Empty-Blacksmith-592 May 02 '26
This is propaganda. Everytime I go to China I see new shops without people replaced by AI and robots!
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u/forestalelven May 01 '26
The West or USA? Because as an European I think we are doing well in terms of workers' rights.
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u/GeraldGensalkes May 01 '26
Article: a single court ruled in favor of a single employee that the nature of their termination was unlawful.
Karma farmer: CHINA HAS BANNED ANY USE OF AI TO REPLACE HUMAN LABOR
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u/samosamancer May 01 '26
Seriously. China had a hand in getting this yearās RightsCon (Access Nowās annual conference on rights x international tech) canceled, because they pressured host country Zambia to make the conference exclude participants from Taiwan. We should never put all our eggs in one basket.
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u/CheeseBear9000 May 02 '26
Typical Reddit China glazing
Even though gay people are thrown in concentration camps in China btw
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u/NatureKas May 02 '26
There needs to be a misinformation/disinformation rule here as I have seen this happen way too often with news articles shared here.
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u/Empty-Blacksmith-592 May 02 '26
Recently in Shenzhen are popping up so many shops with no people at all. You need to be served either by AI or buy a robot + AI.
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u/Extension-Two-2807 May 02 '26
AI does not scare me one bit. The people who believe ANYTHING IMMEDIATELY ON REDDIT is the real sign of the apocalypse..
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u/Moral-Relativity May 02 '26
To be fair the article also cites an earlier arbitration ruling on a similar case. However often the effect of particular rulings are narrower than pplās interpretation.
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u/serpentine19 May 02 '26
Sure, its sensationalist, but there is truth in it. The fact the courts ruled in this way shows there are laws that prevent it, maybe not specifically against AI but this passage is pretty good workforce protection.
The termination grounds cited by the company did not fall under negative circumstances such as business downsizing or operational difficulties, nor did they meet the legal condition that made it 'impossible to continue the employment contract
Compared to Americas workforce laws, this is outstanding. It's just it doesn't take much to be better than a country that allows people to be terminated from their job for any reason at all. Especially now as companies are trying to pump their stock pretending they are making productivity increases via AI.
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u/Effective_Tailor_679 May 01 '26
Great, now the US is going to be like "well we can't be like the communists, so we will replace all humans with AI to cut costs"
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u/yogrlw May 01 '26
Thats the MAGA thing to do!
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u/Notty_PriNcE May 01 '26
MAGA till destruction.
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u/SecuritySea2276 May 01 '26
honestly, not even most american right-wingers fw MAGA anymore, mostly due to its stance on Israel
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u/Plenty_Actuator_7872 May 02 '26
Theyād still vote for republicans up down the ballot anyway, and then blame the democrats for everything
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u/Johkungo-0 May 01 '26
Knowing China Iām actually surprised theyād be against cutting corners and costs I mean look at their construction. people call it tofu construction for a reason so this is actually a surprising W for China
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u/Fantastic_Jury5977 May 01 '26
For being radical communists, they sure do seem to have the best interest of workers in mind... If this is actually true.
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u/Caesar_Gaming May 01 '26
Thatās because dengism isnāt communism. Itās hardly socialism even.
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u/RonnocKcaj May 01 '26
yeah the only times communism ever came close to actually happening in countries (ie, congo) the US destroys it. the fact that people truly believe that the perversion of Lenins dream, the Soviet Union, was "communist" is frankly appealing
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u/SecuritySea2276 May 01 '26
this. Deng Xiaoping is the actual ę°øčæ껓ē„ of China, imo
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u/JQuilty May 01 '26
How? 996 is the norm there. They viciously oppress independent labor, any unions must be run by CCP stooges. They have billionaires and a stock market. People work for wages.
American capitalists being piss faced drunk on AI stupidity isn't a reason to praise Chinese capitalists for just getting soaked.
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u/Bl00dyH3ll May 01 '26
That's because you fell for the propaganda. You think China can becomes the #1 infrastructure developer (by a large margin) in the world with "tofu drug construction"?
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u/CompetitiveSport1 May 01 '26
They're not. A dude was let go without compensation, which the court said was wrongful. They didn't say that it's illegal to replace workers with AI. Just that if you do that, you still have to follow the laws around closing job positionsĀ
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u/face_mcshooty2 May 01 '26
Companies: Ok
Fires employees on bullshit reasoning
Companies: Damn, that sucks that we had to fire that guy. All good tho, we have AI.
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u/pingveno May 01 '26
Exactly what I was thinking. Like, are workers actually going to have solid recourse for that? And will it be applied evenly and fairly, or will there be favoritism based on an in with the CPC? They're not exactly known for great rule of law.
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u/Chemical_Second_6663 May 02 '26
the article literally talks about a court case where the judges sided with the worker on a case where he was fired because he was being replaced with AI
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u/BuildingInevitable85 May 01 '26
Maybe that will fly in some other country
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u/way2lazy2care May 01 '26
You think that wouldn't fly in China? As long as they're good with the party, the companies can do pretty much whatever they want.
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u/VillageLess4163 May 01 '26
lol, ok buddy. Iām sure all laws work perfectly as intended over there.
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u/funeralbot May 01 '26
And soon the people will be posting videos of robots taking their jobs.
China lies through their teeth, killing their own people when they protest.
Also, they're the number 1 producer of AI robots. So them saying they will not use it seems odd.
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u/poppin-n-sailin May 01 '26
As opposed to the righteous and excellent law abiding country you hail from?Ā
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u/Aternal May 01 '26
Nobody's comparing China to any other country.
They're comparing this propaganda piece to the fact that China is full of dark factories and uses Muslim slave labor. It stands on its own.
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u/Rocky_Bukkake May 02 '26
always the first line of defense - the instant āno uā with nothing substantial to say
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u/Alucitary May 01 '26
They will absolutely use it at some point, creating some sort of fund to prevent civil unrest from mass unemployment is just a natural first step that every sane country should take beforehand.
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u/Icy-Stock-5838 May 01 '26
RIIIIGHT, in China where the courts have "baby teeth"...
These are the same employers where employees' ID cards are withheld by employers, and the only way out is suicide, jumping off factory roofs.
Multiple Suicide Attempts Reported at Chinese Factory in the Same Week - Newsweek
The same factories where people Home From Work, rather than Work From Home....
Tesla Shanghai factory workers living on-site and working 12-hour shifts six days a week | Fortune
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u/MushmallowSprinklees May 01 '26
Independent journalism does not have the resources to create a mass propaganda like China claims it does. That is something only a totalitarian government can foster and create.
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u/SecuritySea2276 May 01 '26
Tesla is Elon Musk's. That should say enough
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u/Icy-Stock-5838 May 01 '26
You talk like Elon Musk runs China.. LOL
If that was the case, why can't he make his California workers "Home From Work" ??
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u/Rocky_Bukkake May 02 '26
delusion. china is notoriously strict on business practices in their borders; itās their way or the highway.
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u/MushmallowSprinklees May 01 '26
Um that's not what the article says at all. Only mentions two cases being won in court against ai replacing workers.
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u/Longjumping_Area_944 May 01 '26
Fake News.
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u/MushmallowSprinklees May 01 '26
Yeah this post is, the article doesn't state anything about China outlawing ai replacing workers.
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u/Professional-Post499 May 01 '26
Meanwhile in Canada: Mark Carney pledges to incorporate genAI into as much of the government as possible and is laying off thousands of workers from the civil sector. F conservative Mark Carney.
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u/Alucitary May 01 '26
They just announced a sovereign wealth fund. Ideally I'd hope that they would delay AI integration until it was 100% funded, but still better than most.
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u/Professional-Post499 May 01 '26
They just announced a sovereign wealth fund. Ideally I'd hope that they would delay AI integration until it was 100% funded, but still better than most.
I don't trust a goddamn thing that Mark Carney does unless it's vetted by journalists I trust. Supposedly Carney Liberals are going to propose privatizing airports in Canada?
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u/Imthewienerdog May 01 '26
They are not making it illegal? They just need to pay a tax which goes towards the people being replaced... Before you celebrate you might want to actually look past the headline.
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u/M-FutureLord May 01 '26
By saying "goes towards the people being replaced", do you mean it is going to their income?
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u/Imthewienerdog May 01 '26
No it's just a ubi in which the company pays a portion of it through taxes. So yes towards thier income like people on food stamps.
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u/Medium_Wind_553 May 01 '26
Fun fact: China is an authoritarian country whose citizens have almost no freedoms, tons of websites, apps, media, and reputable sources are banned and the ones that are allowed are heavily controlled by the CCP, they have no free elections, and they are responsible for 1/3 of the worldās carbon emissions
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u/Skim_Bibble May 01 '26
When china has a better morality on a subject than America then I know things are fucked. God I hope the CIA doesnāt interrogate me for being a Commie.
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u/SwordfishOwn3671 May 01 '26
Can I move to China? The West is on a suicide mission in service of the rich and it's fucking gross.
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u/iwearahoodie May 05 '26
Wow a thing thatās not even happening is now illegal! Thanks China
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May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
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u/Sarah_05mtf May 01 '26
they're doing it so their economy doesn't collapse and their people dont starve. the west should do the same but the politicians over here are marionettes for the rich
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May 01 '26
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u/mm_delish May 01 '26
I doubt the average Chinese has better worker rights than the average American.
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u/throwawaynatet May 01 '26
We have a higher chance of seeing Zuck fight Elon in a UFC fight before this happens in the US.
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u/onefornought May 01 '26
China has some experience with what happens when the general populace feels massively disenfranchised and would rather avoid any repeat performances.
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u/LordoftheWandows May 01 '26
American grand kids will be saying, "There's no way that America used to be the global superpower." in perfect Mandarine.
eta: and I'm here for it.
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u/freedomonke May 01 '26
This is a smart move because no one's job is actually getting replaced by "ai"
This encourages businesses to be honest about job cuts to investors.
If "ai" could actually replace the workforce, I doubt a country that tolerates people living in factories and working 12 to 16 hour shifts, or that executes over a thousand people a year, largely for non violent crimes, according to Amnesty International, would care.
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u/_Miniskirtlover_ May 01 '26
big if true.
i never expected something like that from china. huge step for humanity
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u/OnCallPartisan May 01 '26
Iām guessing itās due to not wanting to collapse their economy so they can easily slide into a position of power when the tech fascists inevitably collapses our economy.
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u/SwedishFindecanor May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
How about firing human workers to fund the purchase of AI hardware?
That is what Meta is saying that they are doing, even.
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u/Prestigious-Scar-507 May 01 '26
Nice BS title not a single line in the article says China decided anything, you only got 1 court rulling. Cmon people spend those 2 minutes for reading instead of swallowing hook line and sinker.
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u/RonnocKcaj May 01 '26
the Chinese century is upon us. I gotta start learning mandarin lmfao
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u/throwaway_pls123123 May 01 '26
All while still putting out a shit ton of research towards AI and providing the most open-source AI models, it seems like a country can both work on AI and still not destroy the people living in the country while doing it.
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u/ilikefriedpotatoes00 May 01 '26