Today, I visited China (online)
The day started with my reading this article in the BBC app: How China fell for a lobster: What an AI assistant tells us about Beijing’s ambition.
What lobster, you might ask? Well, the HTML title tag features a different title: “OpenClaw: What China’s frenzy says about its AI ambition.” And no, I’ll never understand why they always use two different titles: one that’s mostly invisible (because it’s truncated by the browser’s tab) and the visible one under the h1 tag. This should be considered bad SEO, but apparently it’s good SEO. “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” And bad is good. Stupid is intelligent.
My initial reaction to BBC’s report: “JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! Let me out of this planet! (And I still can’t understand the OpenClaw frenzy.)”
I even had a chat with Grok about the OpenClaw frenzy. I’m still at a loss.
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As soon as I opened YouTube in Firefox, The Big Algorithm decided that I should be interested in another view of China. It was a video by a young Chinese woman—a video editor—regarding a typical weekend of hers. I ended up watching 4 of the 5 videos from her channel. In reverse order, with the oldest being watched last. But I found it just fine this way.
① A Chinese robot woman’s weekend. It doesn’t seem like she watched any movies or read any books or magazines. 11m13s:
② In northern China, everything is more modest. 12m13s:
③ From Tumen, let’s take a look at North Korea. 10m09s:
④ Apparently, “half the cars are electric because gas is expensive—even more so than in the U.S.” Try Europe, honey. But some things make sense: she watches movies during her lunch break while her coworkers nap. She makes about $3,400 a month as a video editor, which is a very good salary in China, but having a diploma from a good university helps. A lot. 10m28s:
How do you say “Brave New World” in Mandarin?
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UPDATE: ⑤ What is it actually like to see a doctor in China as an ordinary person? She went to a hospital for minor skin tag surgery. It would have cost 286 RMB (42 USD) if not insured, but it was covered by her insurance. 13m15s:
Last time I was in China was more than a decade ago and by then already 90% of bikes I saw were electrical!
The videos of this young woman are very representative of my experience. Now, interesting to see her salary is based on university… did she meant someone on her very same position from a modest university would earn significantly less or that that person would no get the higher paying positions?
Now, my criticism of China is that yes, in decades of continuous growth, the tide has risen all boats, but would a recession tilt the balance a bit more for the poor? Notice the drivers and food preparers make far, far less than her (car driver $6/h to what you have to discount rapid car depreciation and electricity, don’t even calculate the motorbike driver). Whatever is the case, I do notice the Chinese government far more responsive to public sentiment than in the West.
Finally, I found the country very lean and workforce highly motivated, unlike Europe or US. Is it me or in the job places now 10-20% of the workforce is in “medical” leave at any given time?!
On medical leave? In what country? Not so many in Germany or Romania. But very low spirited indeed.
Oh… Spain. Unfortunately I am not traveling any longer, so perceptions get biased now.
The real number is, of course, lower: Las bajas laborales aumentan en España. But in the wealthier industries (far more relaxed pays), absenteeism in one way and another is magnitudes larger.
YouTube has been occupied by the Chinese! Is this a propaganda op by the Chinese government masquerading as genuine personal initiatives?
Here’s another channel: GuYi Alone: “A middle-aged single Chinese woman living alone in an urban village in Southern China. Simple life, honest sharing.”
Currently, it has 4 videos:
① A Single middle-aged woman live alone in China. What’s it like? Low income, low cost. (12:35)
② Age discrimination in China | 36, too old for work & marriage, too young to die. Chinese daily life. (9:22)
③ From Chaos to Decent | A Single Woman’s 20-Min Walk to Work in China. Step into A Different World. (16:10)
④ Crossed the Great Firewall of China | Will I end up in jail? Why don’t I post on Chinese platforms? (8:22)
Let me quote from the transcript of the most recent one:
It’s rather YouTube the instigator, eh?