Last month, California regulators allowed two companies that operate self-driving cars to accept paying customers in San Francisco. The first week did not go well. One car drove itself onto freshly poured concrete in a road construction zone with traffic cones and workers with flags. The car got stuck in the wet concrete, and the company will be paying to repave the road. In a more serious incident, a passenger in a driverless car was injured in a collision with a fire truck. As a result, the op

ViewpointsSept. 13, 2023

No country can survive alone these days. Every country is interdependent and mutually beneficial in one way or another. This is especially true for a country like South Korea, whose economy depends heavily on export and trade, or whose national security largely relies on its allies. It would not be wise for such a country to provoke other countries and make enemies. Enemies, of course, are the exception. It is difficult to be on good terms with hostile countries that threaten you with lethal wea

ViewpointsSept. 13, 2023

Are we moving into an escalating phase towards war? With war returning to Europe with armed conflict in Ukraine, coups in Niger, Central Africa, amid the hottest July in recorded history, the heating of climate and war is becoming a toxic mix. The US Director of National Intelligence’s 2021 report on Global Trends 2040 gloomily assessed the prospects as follows: “In coming years and decades, the world will face more intense and cascading global challenges ranging from disease to clim

ViewpointsSept. 12, 2023

For four decades, “Made in China” has been a defining feature of global capitalism. China has manufactured a majority of global exports since 2010, and many countries are emulating its development paradigm. But a wave of disappointing economic news from China has given rise to increasingly gloomy forecasts, with some going so far as to argue that decline is imminent. There has been much speculation about this reversal’s implications for the global economy, but what does it mean

ViewpointsSept. 11, 2023

The Japanese remember the Great Kanto Earthquake on Sept. 1 every year. There was a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, and more than 100,000 people died. Koreans remember the same day as the Great Kanto Massacre. Shortly after the quake, Japanese police, military and civilian vigilantes brutally killed over 6,000 Koreans, around 750 Chinese as well as Japanese socialists and others on the left. The Great Kanto Massacre took place in 1923, so this year marks the 100th anniversary. Since it was the centena

ViewpointsSept. 7, 2023

The first years of my career in media were spent making photocopies, collecting faxes and filing papers. I also opened reader mail, took notes on meetings and ran errands for my bosses -- picking up everything from skim lattes to control-top Donna Karan tights. I’ve been thinking back to those dues-paying days recently due to an onslaught of depressing research about how generative AI could hurt the career prospects of Generation Z, or those born 1997 to 2012. If it transforms or even take

ViewpointsSept. 7, 2023

There is an image in our collective consciousness that has become indelible, unmistakable: It is when, in the famous fantasy movie, “The Lord of the Rings,” the iconic character Gollum greedily clutches the powerful magic ring at the heart of the story and whispers, “My precious!” Originally, Gollum was a good, peaceful hobbit, but twisted by his greed and obsession with the One Ring, he turned into the monstrous Gollum, a depraved and corrupted creature. The lesson of th

ViewpointsSept. 6, 2023

To tell you the truth, if I do just that, the polls all say that one out of three of you won’t want to hear or read it -- and that you damn well won’t believe it. So let’s start today with the things just about all of us believe. Almost all of us believe that we are on the side of the Patriotic Americans. And way too many of us believe, these days, that those on the other side aren’t true patriots at all -- but fake patriots who are America’s true enemies. We have f

ViewpointsSept. 6, 2023

There has been much handwringing about the retreat of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism in recent years -- and for good reason. From Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former US President Donald Trump, we have a growing list of authoritarians and would-be autocrats who channel a curious form of right-wing populism. Though they promise to protect ordinary citizens and preserve longstanding national values, they pursue policies that prot

ViewpointsSept. 5, 2023

When US President Joe Biden visits Vietnam after his stop at the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi this month, he is expected to upgrade our two nations’ bilateral relationship to a “strategic partnership.” The shift will mark a significant turning for both countries. But it should not come at the cost of skipping the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations around the same time in Indonesia. Biden’s choice to go to Hanoi -- and send Vice President Kamala Harris

ViewpointsSept. 4, 2023

From high-level policy debates and political manifestos to everyday news coverage, anxiety about economic growth is everywhere. In Germany, the government’s latest budget identifies stronger growth as a top priority. In India, national leaders are eager to reclaim their country’s place as the world’s fastest-growing economy. In China, where the prospect of deflation looms, the government is undoubtedly worried about hitting its 5 percent growth target for the year. In the Unite

ViewpointsSept. 4, 2023