Yu Minhong Warns AI Boom May Deepen Societal Wealth Gap

On the morning of November 12, at the "2026 Chongli Forum," Yu Minhong, founder of New Oriental, stated, "The current development of artificial intelligence exhibits a trend: just as the rise of the internet once created countless jobs, AI will likewise create a vast number of new jobs in the future. However, we also notice a clear tendency where artificial intelligence is replacing job opportunities for ordinary people, especially those who, over the past few centuries, have relied on repetitive labor to make a living. The new jobs created in the future, on the other hand, will require people to relearn and redefine themselves." He noted, "This may be similar to the development and changes brought by the Industrial Revolution, but it is far more drastic because it has produced another phenomenon: artificial intelligence is concentrating human wealth into the hands of a very small minority at an extremely rapid pace." Yu Minhong further stated, "Nowadays, an AI-related public company can command a market cap of hundreds of billions or even trillions, yet none of this has flowed to ordinary citizens. Therefore, it is very likely that AI will show another tendency: exacerbating the wealth disparity in society. The defining characteristic of this wealth gap is that the money belonging to those who have become the richest globally through AI cannot create opportunities for ordinary people, nor can it circulate to them in any way—meaning that ordinary people may have no way to share in it."