China’s Robotaxi Dreams Spark Economic Anxiety Over AI’s Threat
Wuhan’s experiment with driverless taxis could help China lead the world on the emerging technology. It also risks putting thousands of people out of work.
A Baidu driverless taxi in Wuhan in July.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergOn a recent summer night in central China, a couple on a motorcycle swerved in front of a driverless cab, forcing the vehicle to brake rapidly. At an intersection, it hesitantly performed a three-point turn, careful to avoid a man with a bike gawking at the new technology from the roadside.
Welcome to Wuhan, the city of 14 million people that’s shaking off its Covid-19 stigma to position itself at the vanguard of smart-car technology — and the difficult questions it raises about the impact artificial intelligence could have on jobs in China and around the world.