AI Is Already Replacing Workers in China. Here Is What That Looks Like on the Ground
From driverless taxis breaking down in Wuhan to factory floors going quiet, Chinese workers are living through something the rest of the world is still debating.
Key points
- Apollo Go robotaxis, driverless tvehicles powered by AI, were pulled off Wuhan's roads for months after a system failure stranded passengers in March.
- Workers across China report growing anxiety about AI replacing their jobs as the labour market tightens.
- The Wuhan incident shows that AI in transport is real and in use today, not a distant forecast.
On a tree-lined street in Wuhan, a city of 13 million in central China, a passenger climbs into a robotaxi and expects a normal ride. No driver. Just a screen, a camera, and software making every decision. In March, several of those taxis stopped dead in traffic. The AI that runs them, a system called Apollo Go made by Chinese tech giant Baidu, hit what the company called a "system malfunction." Riders sat stranded for hours.
Authorities pulled Apollo Go from Wuhan's roads for months while investigations ran.
What does this mean for ordinary people?
For passengers, the short answer is: the technology works until it does not, and when it fails there is no driver to call for help. For workers, the picture is bleaker.
Across China, the spread of AI is hitting jobs in ways that feel very concrete. Warehouse pickers replaced by robots. Customer-service agents undercut by chatbots, software that holds conversations in plain text. Delivery routes optimised by algorithms that cut the number of humans needed. The Guardian reported on workers who say they already have their answer to the headline question: yes, AI took the job.
This is not science fiction. Apollo Go had completed millions of rides in Wuhan before March's breakdown. The taxis charge fares, operate in real traffic, and compete directly with human drivers.
Should workers outside China be worried?
Not panicked, but paying attention, yes. China tends to move faster on deploying this kind of technology at scale, partly because regulation moves more quickly there too. What plays out in Wuhan often previews what arrives elsewhere within a few years.
The Wuhan robotaxi saga captures two things at once. First, AI tools are genuinely capable enough to do jobs people used to do. Second, they are not reliable enough to do those jobs without hiccups that a human would handle in seconds.
For anyone whose job involves driving, sorting, answering calls, or processing routine paperwork, the honest advice is simple: watch what is being automated in your sector, and start building skills that sit alongside AI rather than against it.
Common questions
Is Apollo Go available outside China?
Apollo Go currently operates in Chinese cities including Wuhan, Beijing, and Chongqing. Baidu has signalled interest in international markets but has no confirmed launch dates outside China as of mid-2025.
How does a robotaxi actually work?
A robotaxi uses a mix of cameras, radar, and GPS to build a live map of its surroundings, then runs that data through AI software that steers, brakes, and navigates, all without a human at the wheel. Apollo Go's vehicles do carry a safety monitor in some zones, though Wuhan's fleet had been running fully driverless.
What happens when an AI taxi breaks down?
That is exactly the problem the Wuhan incident exposed. Without a driver, passengers have no one on board to help. They must contact a remote support team, which can take much longer than flagging down a human driver would.
