How a cancer diagnosis reshaped this executive's views on AI and jobs

VANCOUVER — Artificial intelligence will upend industries from healthcare to trucking in the next 15 years, yet the loss of meaning associated with those careers may be far more problematic than the job declines, a prominent tech executive said, using his own experiences as a guide.

"The work ethic in the industrial age has brainwashed us into thinking that work is the reason we exist, that work defines the meaning of our lives," said Kai-Fu Lee, the former chief of Google China and a venture capitalist who invests in AI, speaking on stage at the TED conference.

Describing himself as a "prime and willing victim to that type of workaholic thinking," Lee shared personal stories that had colored his views of AI and work.

For decades, he defined himself by his career; while employed at Apple in the early '90s, he nearly left the delivery room as his wife gave birth to their first child so he could give a presentation on AI to Apple's Steve Jobs. Years later, in China, he worked alongside entrepreneurs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days of week, rarely resting.

Then came a diagnosis in 2013 of stage 4 lymphoma and the prognosis that, perhaps, he had only months to live. "That obsession that I had with work ended abruptly," he said. Scans showed more than 20 malignant tumors, "jumping out like fireballs, melting away my ambition."

He reexamined his life, spending more time with his family and moving closer to his mother. His self worth had been based on how much he worked and the accomplishments that came from those efforts. The illness, now in remission, helped him come to a different understanding of work — and how mankind can coexist with the AI that threatens jobs.

"Why we exist is love," he said. "Humans are uniquely able to give and receive love. That’s what differentiates us from AI."

As AI replaces roles in both blue- and white-collar fields, Lee says society must focus on creating what he calls jobs of compassion.

The world will need more social workers to help people cope with job losses; it will need compassionate — and better-paid — caregivers to provide support to an aging society. The wealth AI creates should fund careers as elderly companions and crisis-hotline counselors. Lee predicts the world will also need 10 times as many teachers to help people find their way as work evolves.

He did not provide specifics for how society will pay for such job retraining efforts or new roles.

Still, he is optimistic. AI will replace routine jobs, while aiding careers of those in creative fields. The technology will help scientists, musicians and writers become better at what they do. It will help caregivers learn how to be more effective with their patients.

"AI is serendipity: It is here to liberate us from routine jobs and it is here to remind us what makes us humans," he said.

Read more coverage of the TED conference here.