Hello World Shenzhen: The Peoples' Republic of the Future

[The Lawspeaker]

Over the past 40 years, the fishing village of Shenzhen has been reborn as a futuristic metropolis bursting with factories. Bloomberg Businessweek's Ashlee Vance travels to the heart of China's tech revolution to witness this new reality firsthand, as part of a three-episode exploration of the city. In part one of Hello World Shenzhen, Vance gets a worker's view of life in a startup and then explores one of the city's famous electronics markets to learn how people survive (and in some cases make fortunes) in such a frenetic, competitive environment.

In part three of Hello World Shenzhen, Bloomberg Businessweek’s Ashlee Vance heads out into a city where you can't use cash or credit cards, only your smartphone, where AI facial-recognition software instantly spots and tickets jaywalkers, and where at least one factory barely needs people. This is the society that China's government and leading tech companies are racing to make a reality, with little time to question which advancements are net positives for the rest of us.

For two weeks each year, college students take over a massive stadium and fill it with fighting drones, plastic ammo, and rapt spectators. This is Robomasters, held in Shenzhen by DJI, the world's leading drone maker. In part two of Hello World Shenzhen, Bloomberg Businessweek’s Ashlee Vance goes inside the world of Nerf-style robo-warfare to spotlight the kinds of innovation that have kept DJI, at the forefront of a booming market, and demonstrates why you may not want him on your squad.

[ixulescu]

Despite this, I still haven't found an original chinese product I'd like buy.

[The Lawspeaker]

Despite this, I still haven't found an original chinese product I'd like buy.

Me neither. But I like the idea of giving much of the production process to robots and robot-operated businesses (and this, here in the West should be combined with a basic income and mass deportations of migrants). Plus: I like the idea of having competitions and tech markets. As for phone payments ? In principle, I am all for it but I don't trust the State here not to snoop in on payments and communications and I don't think that the systems are secure enough. But, yes, I think that the Netherlands should try to take over some of China's good ideas.

[Loki]

Despite this, I still haven't found an original chinese product I'd like buy.

I own a Huawei phone and it's my best yet. I like it.

[ixulescu]

Me neither. But I like the idea of giving much of the production process to robots and robot-operated businesses (and this, here in the West should be combined with a basic income and mass deportations of migrants). Plus: I like the idea of having competitions and tech markets. As for phone payments ? In principle, I am all for it but I don't trust the State here not to snoop in on payments and communications and I don't think that the systems are secure enough. But, yes, I think that the Netherlands should try to take over some of China's good ideas.

Well yeah, but I want to see robots out of the factories, like in construction, crop picking etc.
We had robotic assembly for many decades now, give me something else.

Migration is a complicated subject. It has to occur, otherwise the native population gets complacent. Migration is a good disruptor, in all regards. At the same time, migration has to be limited, so that it doesn't put so much pressure that it collapses the whole system. Migrants have to be pressured too, so that they assimilate.

In regards to surveillance, the amount that occurs in the so called democratic countries already puts to shame the former Eastern European communist regimes. What's happening in China is a nightmare - the citizens are reduced to walking id cards with a social score attached to them.

[ixulescu]

I own a Huawei phone and it's my best yet. I like it.

what's original about it?

[Lemgrant]

Well yeah, but I want to see robots out of the factories, like in construction, crop picking etc.
We had robotic assembly for many decades now, give me something else.

we are working on it

[Ülev]

what's original about it?

Chinese backdoors in soft and I suppose in hardware

[ixulescu]

Chinese backdoors in soft and I suppose in hardware

not even products with backdoors are original

[Morena]

Problem: "We need innovation..."

Solution: Send more Chinese spies to the west!