As Asia faces falling birth rates, AI’s rise distracts couples from building families

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AdvertisementArtificial intelligenceThis Week in AsiaLifestyle & CultureAs Asia faces falling birth rates, AI’s rise distracts couples from building families

AI is putting pressure on Asian workers to upgrade their skills, while the technology also provides ‘cheap fun’ diversions

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A health worker checks on newborn babies at a hospital in Chennai, India. Photo: EPA-EFE

Biman MukherjiAs Asia grapples with falling birth rates, analysts warn that the rise of artificial intelligence is worsening the problem, with the technology putting pressure on workers to upgrade their skills and posing a distraction to families after office hours.

Fertility rates have fallen across the region to some of the lowest levels in the world, well below the generally accepted replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman needed to keep a population stable over time.

The drop in fertility rates was due to financial pressures and career demands faced by people in their thirties and forties when they should be starting families, James Liang, adjunct professor at Peking University’s National School of Development, told This Week in Asia.

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“AI amplifies everything: it demands more training – masters, PhDs – for young people just to get a foothold, suppressing entry wages, while flooding daily life with cheap fun like short videos, virtual reality, gaming and AI companions,” he said.

The increasing use of AI across industries is set to transform the workplace, fuelling more training sessions to meet corporate requirements, according to human resource experts.

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“In Asia, parents are locked in an arms race of tutoring, extracurriculars and elite schooling, pouring massive time and money into each child just to stay competitive,” Liang said. “Not only for children, but parents themselves are also acquiring more training to remain competitive in the age of AI.”

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