7 Eye-Opening Insights About China Tech and the Future of Work

In the past weeks, we’ve explored machine learning and AI, but today, I want to share my firsthand experience with China tech landscape and what it means for the future of work.

This Easter, I spent two weeks traveling through Chengdu and other Chinese cities with local friends.

It was inspiring.
It was eye-opening.
And it left me with a simple truth:

What Europe calls “advanced” is already the past in parts of China.

Here are the 7 insights from my journey:

1. China Tech – Human Integration: Technology That Disappears

In China, ordering a taxi or food isn’t “using technology.”
It’s just how things work.

One tap on WeChat or DiDi.
A driver or delivery appears.

No switching between apps. No forms to fill.
Seamless. Fast.

2. How to pay in China – No Cash — Just Apps

I didn’t touch cash once.

Not in restaurants. Not at street vendors. Not even for taxis.
Everyone uses WeChat Pay or Alipay. Effortless.

Meanwhile, in Germany, paying for coffee without coins? Still revolutionary.

3. Electric Cars in China = Quiet Cities

Electric vehicle adoption is huge.

In a city of 20 million, what surprised me most?
Silence.

Most cars are electric.
Even more surprising: EVs cost under €8,000 — far cheaper than in Europe.

4. Plastic use in China

Not all change felt like progress.

Plastic was everywhere.
Even tissues were individually wrapped.

Coming from a culture that prioritizes reducing plastic waste, this was jarring.

5. Chinese robots in the Streets

Yes, really.

In hotels, we met robots delivering food to guests.
On streets, other robots transferred goods between locations.

6. The Rise of “Dumb Jobs”

For all the tech, I noticed a troubling pattern.

People doing simple, repetitive tasks machines could easily handle.
Holding signs. Handing out tickets. Telling visitors to be quiet in museums.

It made me wonder:
As AI takes over more tasks, will we have to create meaningless jobs just to maintain employment numbers?

This is a challenge we all need to think about:
How can we design meaningful human roles in a tech-driven world?

7. No Playgrounds for Kids

Traveling with my two young kids, I noticed something unusual.

No playgrounds.

Our Chinese friends explained, “Kids here don’t play. They just learn.”

Sure enough, on a Sunday visit to a public library, the place was full of children studying.

This cultural difference was striking.
What do we lose when play disappears?
And how might that shape the next generation?

A Taste of China: What a Tech-Integrated Future Means for Humans

If you’ve ever wondered what a tech-integrated society looks like, a trip to China will give you a front-row seat.

In a global society where some cultures have long been closed off, how can we start learning from each other to shape a better, shared future?

My trip to China really felt like a window into the future.

A future where technology solves problems at lightning speed but also raises important questions.

As tech takes over more roles, what will happen to humans?

In a world that’s changing faster than ever, how can we adapt, stay meaningful, and hold onto what makes us human?