Baidu Apollo's "Luobo Kuai Pao" has recently become incredibly popular, surging to the top of the search trends with daily order volumes skyrocketing to over 20 orders. The prices are also surprisingly affordable, ranging from 0.5 to 1 yuan per kilometer. A fleet of 1,000 vehicles has already arrived in Wuhan, sparking widespread discussion among netizens.

Available on demand, operating 24 hours a day, and with prices that are close to the people, it must be said that this combination of unmanned and intelligent technology is truly impressive. Traditional taxi drivers can only watch helplessly. For a 10-kilometer journey, Luobo Kuai Pao only costs 4 to 16 yuan, while ordinary ride-hailing services would cost at least 18 to 30 yuan.

Not being selective with orders and refusing to carry passengers, the more reliable automatic travel technology—Luobo Travel's advertising slogan on the App perfectly summarizes its advantages.

Despite having only over 1,000 vehicles, they have already secured 5 million orders, with each vehicle handling more than 100 orders on average, which is already competitive with ride-hailing services.

The first to feel the pressure are the traditional taxis. They used to be able to compete with ride-hailing services in terms of service and routes, but now a tireless and lower-cost "robot" has emerged, which is like adding insult to injury. Moreover, the rules of the game have completely changed, and the industry landscape has been completely disrupted.

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So last month, Wuhan taxi drivers collectively voiced their concerns, requesting to control the number of "Luobo Kuai Pao" and hoping for staggered operations to avoid squeezing out their livelihoods. Some friends also asked me, in the next few years, will there still be a way out for taxi/DiDi drivers? I can only say that the wheel of history rolls forward, and no one can stop it.

This is just the beginning; in the future, there will be more and more black technologies like "Luobo Kuai Pao."Under the Unprecedented Changes of the Century, the Inevitable Emergence of "Radish Quick Run"

In the past, we said "victory comes with sacrifices," but today it's "progress comes with a price." In fact, when the era leaves you behind, it does give you a heads-up, it's up to you whether you want to listen and change.

During the Industrial Revolution, when the spinning jenny was introduced, the manual spinners were not happy, but no matter how much they protested, the machines remained machines, and people had to find new ways to make a living. The same is true for autonomous vehicles; no matter how much you criticize, they still zoom down the road.

It should be said that in the tide of technological progress and industrial upgrading, artificial intelligence will sooner or later become a common occurrence, and autonomous driving is just the leading wave in this tide. Whether you like it or not, you have to follow the wave and move forward.

Therefore, from a historical perspective, unemployment is not your problem, but the problem of the industrial revolution. Just like the "electric meter reader" and "water meter collector" of the past, elimination is inevitable.

This time, the emergence of "Radish Quick Run" first sacrifices the grassroots drivers. Whether you admit it or not, this is the reality.

Moreover, the status of unmanned technology can be said to be a matter of national strategy.

It is important to understand that the competition between countries is a competition of cost and technology. If you don't use AI, others will. Originally, due to the shortage of chips, our AI intelligence progress has been lagging behind the United States. In this competitive world, if you don't advance, you will fall back. The United States has no way back, and we don't either.

Moreover, we are now in an unprecedented century of change. Countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh have become what China was in the past, while China has replaced the ecological positions once held by Japan, Germany, and Switzerland. The United States can't deal with China, and China can't deal with the United States, but we have already reached this point, and there is no way to retreat.To break the deadlock, it is necessary to reconstruct the layout of productive forces and establish a new order.

This is also the reason why we are vigorously promoting the Belt and Road Initiative and BRICS cooperation. If we can attract more countries and populations, better days are ahead. Moreover, China is not a predatory developed country, and this reconstruction can be achieved through peaceful competition, without necessarily resorting to violence.

The current unmanned technology is like the darkness before dawn, and it is unclear which path will be viable, but innovation must be encouraged. Luobo Kuai Run is an attempt to test the waters.

Therefore, it is important to recognize the reality that the country will not restrict unmanned technology for the sake of employment, but may instead vigorously develop it, just like e-commerce. Some people think that as long as technological progress is hindered, jobs will be secure, which is a typical weak-minded thinking.

Being backward will lead to being beaten, and who will sympathize with the weak in international competition? The Qing Dynasty is an example.

A nation that fears competition and change is destined to be eliminated by the world.

Of course, there is a psychological contrast among the public, and anxiety is normal. After all, in the past, China was full of gold, and as long as you were diligent, you could walk around the coastal cities and make money. Now, life is better, but the pressure is greater. In the past, "If this place does not accommodate me, there will be a place that does," but now, "If you can't make it here, where can you go?" The choices for ordinary people are becoming fewer, and this sense of powerlessness is actually the price of development.

But in fact, we have just begun to feel the pressure. The brothers in the old industrial areas of Detroit, USA, have experienced it for more than 40 years, but they were developed early and have welfare to fall back on.

We can only rely on ourselves to tough it out. Now the demographic dividend is gone, and the decline in childbirth is irreversible. If the industrial structure is not upgraded, there will be big trouble in ten years, and only new technology can solve this problem.In terms of finance, unmanned intelligence will one day alleviate labor shortages, create demand, and solve fiscal deficiencies. Militarily, unmanned intelligence can also play a significant role. Look at the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where individuals have no advantage in the face of intelligent drones. Moreover, a drone costs only a few thousand dollars, while the consolation money for an injured soldier can reach hundreds of thousands.

Why does the United States suppress us? To put it bluntly, it also wants to hold us back and let us fall into the predicament of aging - if we invest funds in elderly care, the investment in military and technology will inevitably plummet rapidly.

Therefore, we cannot restrict our own technological development in order to maintain the old model. If we are afraid of the pain, then society should not develop, and industrialization and informatization should also be abandoned.

Under such circumstances, what ordinary people should do is to take the initiative to adapt to changes, prepare early, seize the opportunity, rather than blindly resist.

Of course, the government also needs to understand the concerns of ordinary people and introduce targeted measures.

02 Rise of unmanned technology while being vigilant about hidden future challenges

We have witnessed the production factors in economics over the past century from land, technology, talent, and capital, to five elements: land, technology, talent, capital, and data.Pressure is the norm, but we must find ways to relieve it.

Take, for example, the issue of the taxi driver's future; it's just the tip of the iceberg. Traditional employment positions and production methods are already changing: traditional manufacturing workers are being replaced by robots and automated equipment, physical stores are being impacted by e-commerce, logistics are becoming intelligent and unmanned, and there are also intelligent agriculture, online education, telemedicine, and so on. These changes are not only challenges to individual careers but also tests for the entire social system.

At present, our institutional level must also keep pace with technological progress to solve new problems and resolve new conflicts.

Unemployment Issue · Rise of Machines, Where Do People Go

This technological revolution is different from the past. In the past, when the horse-drawn carriage was gone, you could learn to drive a car in a few months; when the car was gone, you could make a living by delivering takeout and courier on an electric scooter. But now, with the advent of unmanned intelligence, it will create a huge squeeze effect.

While providing efficiency and convenience to the public, we should think about what to do with those workers who have been replaced? How to give them new employment opportunities and development directions? We can't expect them to learn all new skills overnight, can we?

After all, most people are just carried by the tide, not brave surfers. At this time, the government needs to step in to help everyone get through the transition period. After the pain period, people will naturally embrace the progress of technology with open arms.

Firstly, training must keep up, helping the unemployed to change tracks and learn new skills; secondly, policies must be strong, giving bosses who are willing to recruit the unemployed some incentives, such as subsidies, tax reductions, etc., to make them willing to lend a helping hand; in addition, technological innovation should make machines more human-oriented, instead of always thinking about taking people's jobs, human-computer cooperation is the right way.Don't forget the safety net of social security in the end; it must be tightly woven, with unemployment insurance, career guidance, and psychological counseling, none of which can be omitted, to give the unemployed peace of mind.

In terms of sharing models, some effort can also be made, such as some people's suggestions, like "Radish Run," allowing drivers to buy cars and join, the car earns money for you during the day, and you can freely arrange at night. If this trick works, it can be promoted to all industries that have been replaced, reducing panic and misunderstanding about unemployment.

We need elites, but we also cannot do without the masses; everyone should be able to find their place in the new era.

Monopoly risks behind unmanned technology

High technology should serve the public and make life better.

For example, Musk uses SpaceX to explore the universe and leads the electric vehicle revolution with Tesla, every step is on the point of human dreams. But some domestic internet giants always focus on the livelihood field, such as community group buying, ride-hailing services. At first, they spend money to grab the market, and when they have squeezed out the opponents, these big capitals no longer innovate, but use their advantages to monopolize the industry and indulge in financial games.

We don't know if there is capital burning money to subsidize us behind the "Radish" being so cheap, but this trick is common in the internet industry. Look at the big guys like Didi, Dazhong Dianping, Meituan, Ctrip now, they have indeed brought convenience to society, but behind them, they all hide the game of "big fish eat small fish."

Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp, and in the end, the shrimp (the common people) can only stare blankly. The fatter they are, the more difficult it is for the common people and small and medium-sized enterprises to breathe.So while the country encourages, it must also keep up with supervision.

What we want is fair competition, and the original intention of unmanned driving technology should be to solve urban traffic congestion, improve travel safety, and enhance the quality of life, not just to grab a piece of the market cake.

Subsequently, it is necessary to always pay attention to controlling the direction and protecting small and medium-sized enterprises, and not let capital become a runaway wild horse, stepping on the livelihood of the people and small and medium-sized enterprises. It is also hoped that more enterprises will stand up to compete with "Radish Quick Run" in the future, so that consumers can get more benefits.

Universal cash distribution · inclusiveness, is it still empty talk?

When the use of social resources is more efficient and people's freedom is more sufficient, production is no longer a problem, the only problem is how to distribute and ensure everyone's needs.

But our biggest problem now is the unfair distribution, and the bottom line protection for the lower level is not enough, this must be admitted. If the progress of productivity only makes a few people rich and oily, instead of improving the beautiful living standards of most people, then this distribution mechanism has a problem.

After all, ordinary people in our country are the majority. If they suffer losses due to the technological changes of capital, they may unite to resist. If capital does not handle it well, technological changes will not only be difficult, but the financial losses will also be immeasurable, and may even trigger an economic crisis. Historically, the British Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, the two World Wars, and the rise and development of socialist countries are all due to these issues.

To avoid the triple loss of morality, technology, and funds, capital should be more proactive. From the perspective of production relations, by some means, a part of the capital's assets are distributed to ordinary people in a reasonable way, so that the people can also share the light, so that society can be harmonious and stable, and everyone can run towards a well-off life together.The great trend of the world is vast and mighty, not subject to the will of any individual.

The communist society we aim to achieve must be a highly automated and unmanned society. Only then can humanity truly realize distribution according to need. In this process, the reform of production relations is imperative. Our generation is destined to seek survival in the crevices between the old and the new.

AI, electronic chips, new energy, and the overseas expansion of traditional manufacturing industries, one wave after another, have propelled people directly into the new era. Tesla, ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, these high-end industry barriers have kept ordinary people out. It is foreseeable that the era will ruthlessly sacrifice a large number of people, and this number will be very large.

Therefore, while promoting the development of science and technology, the country must find ways to mitigate the impact of these changes on the people, pay attention to the impact of industrial upgrading on people's lives, and balance the progress of science and technology with the welfare of the people.

After all, we cannot expect everyone to have the ability to use high technology, the internet, and artificial intelligence, but they should not become a group that is abandoned and ignored.

The future should not be the future of just a few people. What we want is a beautiful era where everyone can shine and contribute!