228: Chapter 228 Lu Li: The Cost of Technological Progress Should Not Be Beared by Ordinary Families

Lu Li paused, not immediately continuing.

The pause was brief, yet it was just enough to make the entire conference hall and the livestream room feel even quieter.

The reporters in the audience unconsciously gripped their pens tighter.

Even those in front of their screens who had been joking around slowly stopped.

Because everyone realized that Lu Li hadn't come today to joke around or throw out a set of flashy concepts.

He was here to tackle the most difficult issues.

Lu Li raised his eyes and looked at the sea of people in front of him.

"Let's start with the first thing."

"Robot replacement of jobs is a fact."

"And this will not stop."

"Today it's cleaning, patrolling, warehousing, sorting, and guidance; tomorrow it will be driving, delivery, and basic services; and the day after, there will be even more."

"Technology cannot just stop in its tracks and wait for people simply because someone frowns."

The conference hall was so quiet that only the faint hum of electricity from the speakers remained.

These few sentences were neither heavy nor sentimental.

Yet, precisely because they were so plain, they made one's heart sink even more.

Because this was not comfort.

It was an admission.

Lu Li did not sugarcoat the situation for anyone.

He didn't even say a single word of empty platitudes like, "Please believe that the future will be better."

He simply laid out the most stinging layer of reality exactly as it was.

The barrage of comments slowed down significantly.

People started typing seriously.

"He's right... This really shouldn't stop. When spinning machines first appeared, they also replaced countless textile workers."

"My dad has been driving for thirty years, and he's been constantly worried about this."

"Finally, someone is willing to address this head-on instead of just praising technology right off the bat."

Lu Li's voice continued.

"The second thing."

"New jobs are also emerging; this is also a fact."

"Operations and maintenance, scheduling, human-machine collaboration, system management, virtual services, city-side coordination... these are all new jobs."

"Technology doesn't just take things away; it also creates new things."

"But the problem lies in the third thing."

As he said this, he tapped his finger lightly on the desk.

It wasn't heavy.

Yet it felt like it struck directly at the hearts of many people.

"Many people cannot keep up with this wave of change."

"It's not that they aren't working hard, not that they don't want to learn, and not that anyone is born wanting to just lie flat."

"It's that they lack the time, the conditions, and the energy; their lives are already too burdened by mortgages, children, elderly parents, illnesses, and life itself."

"You ask someone who has driven for half their life to turn around and learn system scheduling."

"You ask someone who has worked on an assembly line for twenty years to suddenly do intelligent operations and maintenance."

"You ask someone who has just been pushed out of their job to sit down and learn something new with peace of mind while worrying about next month's rent."

"It's not that it's absolutely impossible."

"It's just too hard."

In the livestream room, the barrage of comments scrolled past, no longer as chaotic as before.

Someone just posted:

"That's exactly it."

Others posted:

"I'm one of those people who was replaced, and seeing this, I suddenly want to cry."

"I've been laid off for three months and can only do food delivery. Now I hear that delivery Robots are coming out, and I'm really panicked."

Lu Li looked at the camera, his tone remaining calm.

"Technological progress should not be advanced by pretending that no one is getting hurt."

"What is being replaced is not data."

"It is the livelihoods of countless families."

"We cannot enjoy the dividends of intelligence while pretending not to see those who have been squeezed out by the times."

"And we certainly cannot act like certain influencers, asking things like whether they've worked hard all these years, whether their wages have increased, or whether they've made an effort."

As his voice fell, the entire conference hall seemed to be gently held down by something.

Even many corporate representatives in the audience, who had originally come with the mindset of "Let's see what big lecture Lu Li is going to give today," slowly changed their expressions.

Because they suddenly realized that this press conference was not about talking about how advanced Chengbei District was.

It was about laying out the problems and addressing them clearly.

And it was being said openly and honestly, in front of the whole country and the livestream cameras.

Su Qingxue sat in the audience, watching Lu Li on stage, her fingers tightening little by little, then slowly relaxing.

He was never the type of person who relied on raising his voice to move people.

But for that very reason, every word he spoke now seemed to carry more weight.

He didn't coax.

He didn't beat around the bush.

He didn't pretend not to see.

He simply laid out the most authentic things.

This, in turn, was more powerful than any empty platitudes.

Chen Shuyu sat on the other side; she had originally been tensed up from nervousness.

But hearing this, she suddenly realized that her small worries were being replaced by a stranger emotion.

It was as if her chest was slowly warming up.

And feeling a bit swollen.

She used to think that what Lu Li was best at was dimensionality reduction attacks.

Hitting competitors, rivals, the market, and perceptions.

But today, for the first time, she saw that he wasn't "hitting."

He was catching.

Catching those who had already started to fall.

This was on a completely different level than winning an industry.

And in the livestream room, more and more people understood.

"He's not here to show off technology today."

"He is saying the things we never dared to say."

"He even mentioned that streamer, talking about the 79-yuan eyebrow pencil and saying it was cheap..."

"I'm a factory worker. I remember when our line used to have 15 people. Later, the equipment was updated, and one line only needed four people for feeding and operating equipment. Now, with Robots, it's down to two people watching Robots on two lines. Colleagues I've known for years have all left, and I'm really afraid I'll lose this job too..."

Lu Li picked up his water glass and took a sip.

When he set the glass down, the sound was very light.

Yet everyone's attention was drawn even more intensely by that moment.

Then, he raised his eyes and finally flipped over the first card.

"Therefore, Chengbei District, Beining City, will launch a pilot program for the Basic Resident Security Account."

The conference hall was silent for half a second.

The next moment, it was as if a silent thunderclap had exploded simultaneously in the livestream room and the venue.

"Wait???"

"Basic Security Account??"

"No, did I hear that right??"

"Is this what I think it means?"

"Are they just giving out money??"

"God Lu, are you serious?!"

The hands of the reporters in the audience moved almost simultaneously.

From several media seats, there was even the screeching sound of chair legs moving, clearly because someone had moved too abruptly and almost stood up.

Even Han Shaoting, sitting in the front row, subconsciously placed his hands on the edge of the table, his eyes shifting slightly.

Although he had long known what would be announced today.

Knowing it and actually hearing Lu Li say those words out loud were two different things.

Because once it was said publicly by him, the nature of the matter changed completely.

It shifted from an internal discussion to a public commitment.

It turned from a proposal that could be repeatedly debated into a nail truly driven into the public eye.

Lu Li did not immediately explain further.

He didn't mention the amount.

He didn't mention the scope.

Nor did he mention where the money would come from.

He just calmly continued:

"This is not just simply handing out money."

"Nor is it granting special privileges to anyone."

"This is a feedback mechanism for the smart city."

"It is the first time technology has provided a clear safety net for those it has collided with prematurely."

The livestream room was going crazy.

"A safety net??"

"My god, he really is addressing this issue."

"This isn't just a show, is it??"

"Wait, wait, don't get excited yet, I want to hear what comes next!"

"My hands are starting to shake..."

Lu Li looked ahead, as if he hadn't been affected at all by this sudden explosion of emotion.

He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping across the conference hall, as if sweeping across everyone on the other side of the screen.

Subsequently, he made his words even clearer.

"Not everyone can complete their transformation immediately."

"Not everyone can learn a whole new way of survival in a month."

"So, during this most difficult, most dangerous, and most easily crushing time, the city should not pretend it doesn't see."

"Therefore, the Chengbei pilot program, radiating out to the entire Beining City and even the entire province, the first thing it must do is to let people have a chance to catch their breath."

After these words fell, the first wave of uncontrollable, low murmurs finally began in the conference hall.

People were whispering to each other.

Some were quickly taking notes in low voices.

Others were frowning, clearly having begun to realize what this would impact.

But Lu Li still didn't reveal all his cards at once.

He just picked up his water glass again and took a sip.

Then, just as everyone was on the edge of their seats, he calmly said the last two sentences.

"This money is not charity."

"It is the first feedback of technological dividends."

The camera locked onto his profile.

The livestream room also, at this moment, completely exploded.