Expert at CUHK's Business School: optimal integration of AI and robots into personalised services enhances the human touch in hospitality
Published: 12:00am, 12 Feb 2025
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.]
AI and robotics are transforming workplaces across the globe. In China, following DeepSeek AI's announcement of the DeepSeek R1, which rattled tech sector worldwide, UBTech, a Chinese robotics manufacturer, aims to mass-produce AI-enabled industrial humanoid robots capable of assisting with domestic chores by the end of 2025. In the US, robotics startup Skild AI could achieve a valuation of US$4 billion if SoftBank leads its $500 million funding round. Skild AI is developing a scalable foundation model for robotics, allowing machines to interact with humans safely and dexterously.
These tech developments lead to increased concerns about job displacement. Some argue that while technology enhances roles for certain workers, it may displace others.
For example, a PwC study predicts that 21 percent of existing jobs in China's service sector could be displaced by 2038.
In the hospitality sector, another study estimates that robots could replace up to 25 percent of the global workforce by 2030.
Despite these concerns, the hospitality industry appears to welcome new technologies. AI and robotics are seen as viable solutions for the sector's prolonged manpower shortage, especially having demonstrated their effectiveness during the global pandemic.
A harmonious partnership between technology, integrated through a customer and human-centric approach, and employees will streamline operations without sacrificing the personal touch essential for exceptional hospitality services, believes Professor Sungwoo Choi, Assistant Professor at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese scientists find first evidence that AI could think like a human
Chinese researchers have confirmed for the first time that artificial intelligence large language models can spontaneously create a humanlike system to comprehend and sort natural objects, a process considered a pillar of human cognition. It provides new evidence in a debate over the cognitive capacity of AI models, suggesting that artificial systems that reflect key aspects of human thinking may be possible. 'Understanding how humans conceptualise and categorise natural objects offers critical insights into perception and cognition,' the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Machine Intelligence on Tuesday. 'With the advent of large language models (LLMs), a key question arises: can these models develop humanlike object representations from linguistic and multimodal data?' 13:28 How a shift toward Trump by tech giants like Meta could reshape Asia's digital future How a shift toward Trump by tech giants like Meta could reshape Asia's digital future LLMs are AI models trained on a vast amount of text data – along with visual and audio data in the case of multimodal large language models (MLLMs) – to process tasks.
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong plans new AI supercomputing centre to boost tech hub status
The Hong Kong government is set to enhance its computing power support for start-ups as part of its ambition to become a leading technology hub, according to the city's innovation chief, as local start-ups seek global clients at one of Europe's largest technology shows. Hong Kong planned to establish a new supercomputing centre at Sandy Ridge in the Northern Metropolis – part of a government blueprint that aims to transform a large swathe of land in the New Territories into an economic hub, according to Secretary of Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong. Speaking to the Post on the sidelines of the VivaTech conference in Paris on Friday, Sun said the centre would provide computing power for Hong Kong and other parts of the Greater Bay Area, as well as surrounding regions. Hong Kong's first Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre, launched in Cyberport in December, is expected to deliver 3,000 petaflops of computing power by the end of this year. The China Pavilion at the VivaTech fair in the Paris. Photo: AFP The expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) computing facilities comes as the city seeks to reposition itself as an international innovation and technology hub while navigating increasing US restrictions on access to advanced chips.
Asia Times
10 hours ago
- Asia Times
Price war sparks EV financial crisis concerns in China
BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, is facing growing challenges from an intensifying price war and a change in supplier payment regulations in China, raising market concerns about the company's financial stability. On May 23, the Shenzhen-based EV maker initiated a price war in China by offering discounts of 10 to 30%. It priced some affordable models under 150,000 yuan (US$20,890), and the Xia MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) at around 200,000 yuan. It also offers its Ocean range's Seagull at a starting price of 55,800 yuan, down from the official guide price of 69,800 yuan. BYD's Hong Kong-listed shares have fallen by 15.5% from their peak of HK$155 (US$19.7) on May 23. The company's market cap has decreased by some US$22 billion over the period. BYD executive vice president Stella Li told Bloomberg in an interview on June 12 that the 'very extreme, tough competition' in the Chinese EV market is unsustainable. Li did not say whether BYD would scale back its discount program, but she stated that the company will invest up to $20 billion to expand its operations in Europe over the next few years. She highlighted Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy as BYD's key European markets. 'If we decide to do something, we put all our resources behind it,' she said, referring to the company's commitment to after-sales service in Europe. 'We want to ensure it's successful in the long run.' Last October, the European Union imposed tariffs ranging from 17% to 35.3% on Chinese EVs (BYD: 17%, Geely: 18.8%, SAIC and others: 35.3%). China suggested setting minimum prices for the EVs it ships to the EU. Both sides are still negotiating the matter. In March, BYD said it is considering setting up its third European assembly plant in Germany. It has a factory in Hungary and is building another in Turkey. When BYD announced its price cuts on May 23, one of its rivals warned of a possible Evergrande-like debt crisis in China's auto sector on the same day. (Evergrande is China's highly indebted property company that has come to epitomise the sector's ongoing crisis.) 'An Evergrande of the auto industry already exists, though it has yet to explode,' Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors, said in an interview without naming any company. 'The current automobile industry is facing a serious problem of being coerced by capital,' Wei said. 'Some automakers are addicted to burning money for market share.' He said some Chinese automakers over-rely on financing from the capital market to boost production scale and market share, but ignore their profitability and technological innovation. He said these firms' capital chains will break if the market environment changes. He stated that the bankruptcy of any large auto firm would result in many people losing their jobs, harm upstream and downstream companies, and negatively impact the Chinese economy. Li Yunfei, general manager of BYD's brand and public relations division, responded to Wei's comments in a Weibo post on May 30. 'Following the stunning comments made by Great Wall Motors' Wei, many articles and videos said BYD is an Evergrande in the auto sector,' Li said. 'I feel confused and angry, and find these comments laughable.' 'If BYD's debt-to-asset ratio (70%) is a sign of high risk, are Ford (84%), General Motors (76%), and Geely (68%) all at risk?' he said. He said many malicious commentators ignored that BYD's interest-bearing debts and accounts payable are lower than many other players. He added that Chinese EVs have become mainstream products overseas and will continue to see good prospects. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on May 31 that automakers should avoid disorderly price wars and maintain fair competition. The People's Daily commented that consumers would not benefit from price wars, which would drive automakers to use low-quality parts, reduce after-sales service and cut research and development expenses. Citing industry data, the newspaper reported that the average net margin of Chinese automakers fell to 4.3% in 2024, down from 5% in 2023. For 2024, BYD's net profit rose 34% to 40.3 billion yuan, while revenue grew 29% to 777.1 billion yuan. At the end of 2024, the company's total debt rose 10.3% to 584 billion yuan, and its total assets increased 15.3% to 783 billion yuan. Its debt-to-asset ratio, or debt ratio, fell 3.2 percentage points to 74.64%. For the same period, Nio, a Shanghai-based EV maker, had a debt ratio of 87.45%, and Great Wall Motors' was 65.96%. Heavily indebted Chinese property developers have around 60-90% debt ratios. However, accounting consultancy GMT Research said in January that BYD's net debt might be 323 billion yuan as of mid-2024, contrasting with the official figure of 27.7 billion yuan. It stated that the company's Dilink platform, a supply chain financing system, may conceal a substantial amount of off-balance sheet debt. In other words, BYD may have delayed supplier payments. Wang Guo-chen, an assistant researcher at Taiwan's Chung-hua Institute for Economic Research (CIER), said BYD is only one of the many Chinese firms struggling to survive in an oversupplied market. On March 25, China's State Council amended the Regulation on Ensuring Payments to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, requiring companies to pay their suppliers within 60 days, effective June 1. BYD said on June 11 that it will standardize its payment period for suppliers to 60 days. Observers said automakers may thus report higher debt ratios in the second half. Read: Sugon, its suppliers hit by US sanctions, to merge with Hygon
