| Abstract： |
As artificial intelligence advances, one of the main topics today is how it will affect job replacement. In particular, the ground-breaking discovery of generative AI has increased people's worries about "machines replacing humans." It is crucial to determine whether and how the development and deployment of artificial intelligence technology will affect the employment of the service industry, which employs the largest number of people. Using O*NET occupational data and machine learning algorithm, this study first analyzes the overall risk of AI job replacement in service industry. Then, using data from listed service industry enterprises in China from 2011 to 2020, this study uses the difference-in-difference method to examine the impact of artificial intelligence on the number of employees, the skill structure of employees, and the income of employees in service industry enterprises. The main findings of this study are as follows. First, although the job with high replacement risks are mainly concentrated in the manufacturing sector, the risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence in service sector is becoming increasingly prominent. Second, the application of artificial intelligence by service enterprises will increase the total number of employees and absorb more jobs. Third, despite the increase in the number of employees, this demand is mainly reflected in the demand for high-skilled employees, showing a reduced demand for low- and medium-skilled employees, resulting in a polarization trend of "education-post". Finally, in terms of employee income, the application of artificial intelligence technology in service enterprises makes employees' income have a certain downward trend, which is also one of the negative effects of deskilling, which leads to the decline of employees' ability to bargain on salary and leads to income inequality. |
