Thousands of jobs threatened by robotaxi push<\/a><\/p>\nThe same AI foundation model that powers Iron also underpins the company’s autonomous driving technology and Robotaxi program, which Gu describes as \u201crobots on wheels\u201d.<\/p>\n
XPeng hopes to eventually bring that technology to Australia, partnering with local businesses as driverless vehicles become commercially viable.<\/p>\n
The prospect of autonomous vehicles has drawn a strong response from the Transport Workers’ Union, which argues Australians should have a say in how emerging technologies are introduced and regulated.<\/p>\n
![\"Robot](\"https:\/\/content.api.news\/v3\/images\/bin\/01a51dfeb7e4fe0ea3a7e6ae2729c0fd\")
<\/p>\n
National Secretary Michael Kaine said, \u201cit is the job of our policymakers to determine if or when this type of technology reaches our streets, and most importantly \u2013 under what regulatory conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those same questions are now being asked of humanoid robots.<\/p>\n
If they can greet customers, answer questions and never clock off, what happens to the people who would have done those jobs?<\/p>\n
Mr Gu said Iron was designed to handle \u201croutine, repeatable, mundane jobs,\u201d freeing up staff to focus on higher-value work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can have more people focus on other aspects of the sales process that add more value \u2013 that needs more human interactions or intuitive human judgement. Those things are not going to be replaced by robots yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
When we pointed out the significance of that final word \u201dyet\u201d \u2013 Mr Gu laughed.<\/p>\n
He argued people would evolve alongside AI, becoming \u201cmore thoughtful\u201d and better at using the technology, changing the mix of jobs rather than eliminating people altogether.<\/p>\n
But Unions are wary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot keep seeing Silicon Valley start-ups imposing technology in our communities without Australians getting a say. It is time to see decisions made in the interests of workers and the Australian community,\u201d said Mr Kaine.<\/p>\n
One thing is already clear. Like it or not, AI is no longer confined to a screen \u2026 It’s about to clock on for work.<\/p>\n
Read related topics:China<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getting your first job often meant standing behind a counter \u2013 saying hi to customers, answering questions 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