With the development of technology, artificial intelligence has entered various industries. In many parts of China, unmanned delivery vehicles have been launched, which can save costs and reduce the need for personnel, but the drawbacks are also apparent. The unemployment rate has risen, and safety issues are becoming more frequent.
On August 28th, heavy rain suddenly poured down in Nanyang, Henan province. A tire of an unmanned delivery vehicle got stuck, continuously shouting “help me.” A couple riding an electric motorcycle noticed the situation and helped push the vehicle out of the mud, and then restarted it to resume normal operation.
Since the introduction of unmanned delivery vehicles on the roads, accidents have been frequent. On July 6th, at a crossroads in Jinqian Street and Zhihui Road in Ziyang City, Sichuan, a “Zhongtong Express” unmanned delivery vehicle ran a red light at the intersection, fortunately without causing harm to pedestrians or vehicles. When unmanned delivery vehicles run red lights, the Ziyang traffic police stated that there are currently no penalties in place.
On May 9th, at a large crossroads in Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, an unmanned delivery vehicle made a wrong turn and collided with a bus at the intersection. The bus driver got off to inspect, tapped the unmanned delivery vehicle to reverse, but there was no response, leaving the driver helplessly shaking his head.
On April 8th, a video shared by a netizen in Xi’an showed a “Jiushi Unmanned Vehicle” from Zhongtong Express getting an electric scooter stuck under its front left wheel during delivery. Despite the mishap, the unmanned vehicle continued dragging the scooter while moving forward. Fortunately, no one was injured at the scene. Zhongtong Express has contacted the scooter owner to arrange compensation through the unmanned vehicle manufacturer.
Since the introduction of unmanned vehicles on the road, there have been many traffic accidents. A delivery worker in Shenzhen, Wu Jun (alias), told Dajiyuan that there are many unmanned delivery vehicles in the streets of Shenzhen, often leading to comical situations. When faced with difficulties, they emit human-like sounds such as “help me.” Wu noted that there have been incidents of unmanned vehicles colliding with large trucks, taking the wrong route and bumping into other vehicles, running red lights, and crashing through barriers into residential communities.
Wu Jun expressed concerns over the increasing unemployment rate among young people. In the past, delivering packages could provide for entire families, but now many have lost their jobs. Deploying robotic vehicles all over the streets, which cannot effectively communicate in case of problems, raises questions about the government’s strategy. The advancement of mechanization should ideally improve the standard of living for individuals, with robots serving humans. However, the current situation shows that machines are replacing job opportunities for people, ultimately leading to a decline in living standards.