China’s EV Battery Crisis & AI Doomers’ Dire Warnings
▼ Summary
– China’s EV market has boomed, with electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles making up nearly 60% of new car sales by late 2025.
– The country now faces a growing challenge of managing the first wave of aging EV batteries as they reach the end of their life.
– This has strained the battery recycling industry and spurred a problematic gray market with poor safety and environmental standards.
– Meanwhile, AI “doomers,” who warn of existential risks from advanced AI, feel their influence has waned despite past policy successes.
– MIT Technology Review is also prompting readers to reflect on 2025’s major biotech and health stories through an end-of-year quiz.
China’s electric vehicle market has experienced a remarkable surge over the last ten years, transforming from a niche interest into a mainstream choice for millions of drivers. This shift, supported by significant government initiatives, led to a stunning statistic: by the end of 2025, electric or plug-in hybrid models accounted for nearly 60% of all new car sales. This rapid adoption, however, has created a consequential new challenge as the first generation of these vehicles begins to age out.
A pressing environmental and logistical issue is now emerging as the batteries from this initial wave of EVs reach the end of their operational life. Owners are starting to retire their cars, leaving the nation to grapple with the complex question of how to handle millions of aging battery packs. The sheer volume is overwhelming the country’s still-maturing battery recycling infrastructure, which cannot yet process the incoming flood efficiently.
This capacity gap has unfortunately spurred the growth of an unregulated gray market. Operators in this space frequently bypass crucial safety protocols and environmental standards to cut costs, posing serious risks. While national regulators and established commercial companies are launching efforts to create formal recycling channels, their progress has so far failed to match the accelerating pace of battery retirements. The situation highlights a critical bottleneck in the lifecycle of sustainable transportation.
Meanwhile, in the world of artificial intelligence, a group often labeled as “doomers” remains steadfast in their concerns. This community, though relatively small, holds considerable influence with its core belief that advanced AI could pose an existential threat to humanity. Their perspective has shaped policy discussions, notably influencing the approach of the Biden administration in recent years.
The past six months, however, have introduced new headwinds for this viewpoint. Conversation has increasingly shifted toward speculation about a potential AI investment bubble, as technology firms pour monumental resources into data center infrastructure with uncertain future demand. This economic discourse has somewhat overshadowed the long-term safety warnings from doomers.
Given these developments, we reached out to several prominent figures within this movement to see if the changing landscape had softened their stance. Their responses revealed a consistent, undeterred conviction. They argue that commercial hype cycles do not diminish the fundamental risks they foresee, maintaining that the potential for AI to cause catastrophic harm remains a clear and present danger that requires urgent governance.
As the year draws to a close, it’s a perfect moment to reflect on the breakthroughs and headlines that defined the last twelve months in health and biotechnology. From the deeper integration of AI in medicine and the expanding applications of weight-loss pharmaceuticals to stunning advances in gene therapy, IVF, and neurotechnology, the pace of innovation has been breathtaking.
How well have you kept up with these stories? Our senior biotech reporter invites you to test your knowledge with a special year-end quiz. It’s a fun way to see just how closely you’ve been following the science and stories that are reshaping our approach to health and human biology.
(Source: Technology Review)
