WorldSkills President: Human Skills Stay Central in AI Era

The president of WorldSkills International said during the 48th WorldSkills Competition that AI acts as an intermediate executor in industrial applications, while humans remain the core of innovation, decision-making and implementation. He stressed that core skills, humanistic qualities and emotional thinking cannot be replaced by AI.

He cited examples such as AI generating images and standard plans, but said human expertise is still needed for creative conception, scenario adaptation and final delivery. This year's event added seven new skill areas, including rail transit, low-altitude economy, smart security, digital technology, creative media, public health and modern commerce. Traditional categories such as head chef now incorporate digital management and intelligent equipment operation.

China sent a 220-member delegation to compete in all 64 skills, with an average contestant age of 21 and more than 60 percent of participants from technical schools. The president noted that more university students are now participating in WorldSkills compared with 20 years ago, driven by changes in cloud computing, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.