Driverless cars hit the roads in China as threat of job losses causes concern

The Manila Times

Driverless cars hit the roads in China as threat of job losses causes concern  China speeds ahead of the rest of the world in the rollout of driverless technology, it is also charging into another first: the threat to jobs in a driverless economy.  From robotaxis undercutting taxi fares to a driving school replacing hundreds of human instructors, China is starting to debate the reckoning from a technology still over the horizon elsewhere.  Baidu’s Apollo Go now runs 24/7 in central China’s Wuhan city with its network offering service to 7.7 million residents — more than half of the city's population.  With Baidu announcing plans to expand to 100 Chinese cities by 2030, it’s also expected to deploy 1,000 of its newest robotaxis in Wuhan and break even per robotaxi by the end of this year.   REUTERS VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #tmtnews #wuhan #baidu

Transcript

00:00China is speeding ahead of other countries in letting robo-taxis take to the streets.

00:07The autonomous cabs are now a common sight in the central city of Wuhan.

00:14Run by tech giant Baidu, they don't have any human driver, though a service assistant can

00:20always be contacted.

00:22All that puts China not only at the cutting edge of technology, but also social change.

00:29Taxi drivers Reuters spoke to, but weren't allowed to film, said the robots had taken

00:34a big share of short-distance trips and were hitting their incomes.

00:38With Baidu planning to expand to 100 cities by 2030, that has cab drivers across the country

00:44worried.

00:46In Beijing, Jun Tianchen at the Economist Intelligence Unit says officials will be watching

00:50very carefully.

00:52The government will increase its intervention in the market by, for example, limiting the

00:58quotas of robo-taxis on the road, for example, and it probably also will be stepping up its

01:06support for the employment of those drivers that could be losing their jobs.

01:13It's not just taxi drivers that are worried.

01:16Robots are also taking over as driving instructors.

01:19At this driving school near the capital, they started automating instruction in 2019.

01:25Students now opt for robot teachers, and pass rates are said to have risen.

01:30Manager Zhang Yang says the school already needs fewer instructors as a result.

01:37Regarding labour costs, there are definitely savings.

01:40With our current training model, students learn independently of instructors, which

01:44also elevates the ability of students to learn on their own.

01:48During training, instructors play a supporting role, while our AI system in the car gives

01:53key training and operation pointers, so the instructors assist students in their learning.

01:59This significantly reduces the ratio of instructors needed.

02:03In June, China gave nine automakers approval to test advanced driverless systems on public

02:08roads.

02:09Then, last month, it published draft regulations for their use in public transport and ride

02:14hailing.

02:16With a slew of local testing projects now underway, the rise of the robots looks very

02:21unlikely to stop.

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