Chinese Gaming Firm Appoints AI Robot As CEO, Sees 10 Percent Growth In Share Price

NetDragon Websoft appointed an AI bot named Tang Yu as a CEO of its subsidiary.

NetDragon believes that Tang Yu will increase efficiency in decision-making and risk management.

Source : Getty

NetDragon Websoft, a Fuzhou-headquartered gaming company, in August last year, appointed an "AI-powered virtual humanoid robot" named Tang Yu as the CEO of its subsidiary, Fujian NetDragon Websoft. Since the announcement, the company's stock has outperformed the Hang Seng Index, which tracks the largest companies listed in Hong Kong, as per a report by The Hustle. Over the past six months, the company's shares have increased by 10 percent and are now valued at approximately HKD 9 billion (roughly Rs 9,452 crore), according to Google Finance.

NetDragon believes that Tang Yu will increase efficiency in decision-making and risk management, as well as promote a fair and efficient workplace for all employees. NetDragon's chairman, Dejian Liu, said in a press release that the appointment of Tang Yu as CEO demonstrates the company's commitment to embracing the use of AI for corporate management.

NetDragon was founded in 1999 and developed several popular multiplayer games, including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved, and Conquer Online, as well as China's first online gaming portal, 17173.com.

While NetDragon may be the first company to appoint a bot as CEO, Alibaba founder Jack Ma predicted in 2017 that "a robot will likely be on the cover of Time magazine as the best CEO in 30 years," CNN reported. Although there are several jobs that could eventually be replaced by artificial intelligence, including software engineering and journalism, Chief Executive was not among them, according to Insider.

Meanwhile, we asked ChatGPT to list 10 jobs that it think AI cannot replace. It went ahead to list several professions, including the likes of social workers, healthcare professionals, teachers, artists, scientists, lawyers, writers, personal care workers, customer service representatives, and entrepreneurs. 

While some of the options listed by ChatGPT make sense, such as entrepreneurs, social workers, and personal care workers. However, some of the listings, especially customer service representatives, are jobs that have already seen a heavy impact from the integration of AI. It should be noted that AI is still in its nascent stage, marked by pilots and prototypes, before industrywide adoption is seen across the globe.