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https://www.zaobao.com.sg/finance/singapore/story20260213-8448346?utm_source=android-share&utm_medium=app
2026-02-13
By Zhou Wenlong
Deputy Director of Business News, Lianhe Zaobao
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Skilled manual trades such as plumbers, electricians and craftsmen are hard to be replaced by AI due to the need for manual dexterity. However, as AI technology advances to a certain point, our thinking should not stop at "which jobs are not easily replaced by AI". Instead, we should ask: What is the meaning of human existence? How should humans live their lives?
In November 1967, UBS launched one of the world's first automated teller machines on a street in Zurich. With a password and a perforated paper card, bank customers could insert the card and enter the password at the ATM to withdraw cash, no longer needing to queue at the counter.
This convenient machine was not popular among bank staff at that time. Many tellers feared that bank branches would disappear and they would lose their jobs. But the opposite happened. The popularization of ATMs allowed UBS to expand its business to wealth management and life-related services, with an increase rather than a decrease in the number of employees.
A few years ago, when I visited UBS's headquarters and discussed the impact of technological changes such as digital banking and Bitcoin on the banking industry, a senior executive took the ATM story as an example and said dismissively: "Don't worry. When technological changes first emerge, they always trigger industry anxiety and employee concerns. People forget, however, that technological changes also spawn new careers and opportunities at the same time."
Indeed, from the Industrial Revolution to the Internet and smartphones, the emergence of every new technology has prompted tech critics to issue warnings that "society will be turned upside down" and "a large number of jobs will disappear". Yet these warnings have never come true. Like the story of "the boy who cried wolf", people have become accustomed to hearing them and no longer feel alarmed.
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Extended Reading
Shen Yue: From TikTok to Manus, Who Can Ride the Trend to Soar?
Li Yaning: The World is Rushing Towards Disorder, Where is the End of Gold Prices?
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This time, however, the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution seems to be for real.
Humanoid Robots Dance with Wang Leehom, Their Rapid Evolution Astonishes and Frightens
The annual report released by Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) on Monday (February 9) showed that the fixed asset investments attracted by Singapore in 2025 are expected to create only 15,700 jobs, the lowest in at least a decade. EDB Chairman Fang Zhangwen pointed out that one of the reasons is the growing popularity of automation and AI.
Fang's explanation echoed the remarks made by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong last month at the press conference for the mid-term review of the Economic Strategies Committee. He noted that with the advancement of AI and productivity, economic growth no longer necessarily leads to more job opportunities. Singaporeans must continuously upgrade their skills and make training a part of their lives.
In the new fiscal year's budget speech on Thursday (February 12), Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong also said that AI is advancing at an astonishing pace, accompanied by profound worries. "Workers fear that AI will take over their jobs. Society is concerned about misinformation, bias, and the ethical use of powerful technologies. These anxieties are real – and we must face them head-on."
The remarks by Prime Minister Wong and others indicate that the AI trend has led to a global employment crisis, especially for Generation Z. AI replacing human jobs is not a "boy who cried wolf" joke, but a tangible reality.
Unlike previous technological revolutions, the rise of AI technology this time, especially agent AI, is no longer just a replacement for traditional manual labor, but also penetrates into cognitive and creative fields. Moreover, it is growing at an astonishing rate, capable of continuous learning and optimization as the volume of data increases.
More than a month ago, singer Wang Leehom invited humanoid robots from Unitree Technology to dance on stage at his tour concert, sparking heated discussions.
These robots moved extremely clumsily when they performed at China's Spring Festival Gala early last year. In less than a year, they have been able to dance in sync with Wang Leehom and complete complex and tedious movements.
Watching this dance, I felt both amazed and frightened.
What is frightening is not the robots' dexterity, but their speed of evolution. In less than a year, they have learned human motor skills and simulated the coordinated control of more than 600 skeletal muscles in the human body.
And the cycle of each of their technological leaps is shortening, with evolution only getting faster and faster.
If you were a professional dancer, would you not be shocked, frightened or worried about AI replacing you when seeing robots dance?
In the past, we thought only repetitive, low-skilled jobs were easily replaced by technology. Today, however, AI can write articles, design images, even generate code and conduct data analysis.
Major American tech giants have been carrying out frequent layoffs recently. Amazon cut 30,000 jobs in two rounds to accelerate AI deployment, the largest layoff in its history. Intel laid off 15% of its workforce, or 20,000 employees, last year to focus on AI and advanced manufacturing processes; Microsoft also cut more than 15,000 jobs to bet on agent AI...
Ironically, many of the laid-off employees are programmers who are familiar with AI coding and have helped drive the development of AI, only to be replaced by more powerful AI models in the end.
What's more, AI has led to the "Low Hire, Low Fire" phenomenon in the job market, where enterprises do not carry out large-scale layoffs, but also leave vacancies unfilled and are not active in expanding their teams. Behind this "deadlock" is enterprises' more conservative human resource strategies in the face of the potential huge impact of AI.
Recently, I heard a story of a bank recruiting 30 interns but only hiring one in the end. In the long run, this labor market deadlock will lead to low occupational mobility and suppress enterprises' innovation capabilities. Though it seems stable and safe, it actually hides structural risks.
Plumbers and Electricians Are the Hardest to Be Replaced by AI
Faced with the fierce wave of AI transformation and the "Low Hire, Low Fire" deadlock, how should we meet the challenges?
"Become a plumber, electrician or craftsman," said Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA.
In an interview with Channel 4 in the UK last October, Huang pointed out that with the accelerated expansion of data centers worldwide, there will be an unprecedented demand for professional talents such as plumbers, electricians and craftsmen.
Geoffrey Hinton, known as the "Godfather of AI", also expressed a similar view in a recent podcast.
Skilled manual trades such as plumbers, electricians and craftsmen are hard to be replaced by AI because they require manual dexterity, the ability to adapt to unpredictable situations and solve problems. From the perspective of corporate cost-effectiveness, developing an AI robot that can crawl into narrow computer rooms to tighten screws and replace leaking water pipes is highly difficult with little return. Simply put, it is "not worth it".
Yet when I think that the end of AI leads to plumbers, electricians and craftsmen, and that these professions are the answer to coping with the AI revolution, I feel a sense of powerlessness and frustration.
On a broader level, as AI technology advances to a certain point, our thinking should not stop at "which jobs are not easily replaced by AI". Instead, we should ask: What is the meaning of human existence? How should humans live their lives?
In November 2023, Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, said in a conversation with then UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that future AI technology will be able to do anything, making traditional jobs unnecessary: "I don't know if this will be comforting or uncomfortable. It's both a good thing and a bad thing. One of the challenges humans have to face in the future is: How to find the meaning of life?"
I think in an era of rapid AI development, learning knowledge is still useful, because what we learn is not only knowledge itself, but also concentration, in-depth thinking, critical thinking and collaboration skills, among others. Plumbers, electricians and craftsmen may be career choices to cope with AI challenges, but we should not blindly pursue only those professions that "seem promising" and "are not easily replaced by AI". Instead, we should also pursue our own goals and do what we like through work.
What matters is that in any era, whether there is AI or technological change replacing human jobs, maintaining an optimistic mindset, focusing on the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature, actively promoting human well-being, having empathy, intellectual curiosity and a sense of wonder, living in the moment and adapting to the future... these are still the life spirits and attitudes we want to pursue, and also the human traits that no matter how powerful AI is, it can never replace.
The AI wave has arrived. How do we want to live, and how should we shape the future? Everyone may have a different answer. It is an answer that AI cannot find – we can only leave AI behind and ask ourselves.
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