The founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, surprised attendees of the World Conference on Artificial Intelligence, which was held in Shanghai, saying he was in favor of reducing working hours.
In the event, the billionaire estimated that people should work only 12 hours a week, although he clarified that such benefit would be possible thanks to artificial intelligence, technological advances, and reform in education systems.
“I think that thanks to artificial intelligence, people will have more time to enjoy being human beings. I don’t think we need so many jobs,” said the businessman.
He added that “during the next 10 or 20 years, every human being, country and government should concentrate on reforming the education system, on ensuring that our children can find a job that only requires three days a week, four hours a day.”
His statements go in the opposite direction to those he issued earlier where he defended the extensive working days that exist in China, specifically in the technology sector, where his workers perform their duties in 12-hour shifts for six days a week.
