AI disrupts the 20th-century labour contract in Asia

As artificial intelligence reshapes the workforce, the conventional practice of tracking hours worked is losing relevance, especially in Asia's modern economies. Across cities like Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo, and Beijing, 20th-century labor contracts are at odds with the demands of AI-driven knowledge work. In Hwaseong, South Korea, an engineer on the brink of resolving a defect that could save a week of wafer production is compelled to leave due to labor regulations. President Lee Jae-myung has allegedly encouraged officials to work overnight to expedite licensing processes, which contradicts labor laws affecting essential engineers in national chip initiatives. The article contends that when a single engineer can address issues that previously required a month of teamwork, the question of hours worked no longer reflects true productivity. This understanding, familiar in sales where success is gauged by revenue, is now permeating fields like engineering, research, and design, indicating that traditional timekeeping is inadequate for knowledge-based economies.