“In the future, robots will deliver goods, and there will be no need for couriers at all,” said Richard Liu Qiangdong, JD.com's (9618) founder.
Liu announced a massive retraining initiative for the e-commerce giant’s 700,000 blue-collar workers, alongside a pledge to open the company’s artificial intelligence technologies to international partners.
This is the internal initiative unveiled at an APEC China Business Forum panel, dubbed the "Nirvana Project" .
Under the program, JD.com plans to send its vast workforce of couriers and logistics staff back to school for technical training, preparing them for the sweeping disruptions brought by advancements in AI and automation.
JD.com has therefore signed agreements with 120 schools across the country. He said that in the future, JD.com employees can repair and maintain the robots.
"As a corporation, if you develop new technologies, they should be used to make human lives better and work more engaging, rather than depriving people of their right to work," Liu said during the panel.
In a significant strategic pivot, Liu also declared that JD.com will immediately open its proprietary AI technologies to global collaborators, including those across the Asia-Pacific region.
