- cross-posted to:
- theatlantic@ibbit.at
- cross-posted to:
- theatlantic@ibbit.at
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/52365672
These days, it’s the foreigners visiting China who often experience future shock, astonished by the towering skyscrapers, high-speed rail, megabridges, and ubiquitous electric cars, super-apps, and trifold smartphones.
The country now accounts for 70 percent of the world’s granted AI patents, 75 percent of global patent applications in clean-energy technology, 41 percent of granted patents in the life sciences and biotechnology, and more patent applications in fusion technology than any other country.
Eight of the world’s top 10 institutions by research output are in China, according to the Nature Index.



What are “super-apps”?
A dystopia that Elon Musk wants to import from China where one company controls everything you do via an app on your phone.
WeChat I guess
What makes it “super” as opposed to “just” an “app”?
I think it’s that it basically has a grip on small economy
It’s a chat app yes, but it’s also Amazon, it’s also a payment provider, not just online either, you pay in shops with a WeChat QR code, I think if you’re going to a gig, your tickets are on WeChat
It’s basically all encompassing.
I don’t understand the appeal of these apps. We have em too here in Japan called LINE and it’s just so bloated and annoying. It’s like having a whole phone os within an app because they have little mini apps (extensions) that you launch. And ads. Jesus, so many ads.
That sounds dangerous, wtf.
Yeah I’ve personally never got the appeal