📌 TOPINDIATOURS Breaking ai: China moves to outlaw Tesla-style electric door handl

China will ban electrically powered retractable car door handles starting January 1, 2027, after a series of fatal crashes raised safety alarms.

Regulators say these designs can trap occupants and slow rescue efforts after collisions, especially when power systems fail.

The rule appears in a draft regulation released in mid-December by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

It targets passenger vehicles weighing under 3.5 tons and forms part of a broader automotive safety overhaul.

Under the proposed rules, all cars must include interior and exterior door handles with mechanical emergency release functions.

The handles must work even if a vehicle loses power or sustains severe crash damage.

Emergency responders have long warned about delays caused by electronically operated doors. In several incidents, rescuers struggled to access passengers quickly after impacts.

The new regulation aims to remove that risk entirely.

The draft also outlines requirements for handle placement, release force, safety markings, and power-off behavior.

Regulators want door operation to remain intuitive during emergencies, even for people unfamiliar with the vehicle.

Online reaction in China has been largely supportive. Many social media users welcomed stricter design rules that prioritize escape and rescue over styling.

Crashes drive urgency

Public concern surged after a fatal crash in Chengdu on October 13. Witnesses said they could not open the vehicle’s doors to reach the occupants.

All passengers died at the scene.

Another crash in the eastern city of Tongling also killed three people. Media reports linked both incidents to the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra.

An industry source told Chinese media that the vehicle lacked a mechanical exterior handle.

The interior handle remained hidden and depended on electrical power. When the system failed, doors stayed locked.

The source said rescuers could not reach the internal release even after breaking the windows. That design detail became a focal point of criticism across Chinese media.

Consumer complaints about retractable handles increased sharply in 2024.

Drivers reported failures in cold weather and accidental finger injuries, especially involving children.

Design benefits questioned

Automakers often promote flush handles for aerodynamics and appearance. However, analysts say the efficiency gains remain minimal.

Studies show drag reduction typically ranges from 0.005 to 0.01. That improvement saves roughly 0.6 kWh per 100 kilometers. Critics argue the trade-off does not justify safety risks.

Industry veterans have echoed that view. Great Wall Motors chairman Wei Jianjun recently criticized concealed door handles. He said the design ignores real user needs and offers no meaningful efficiency gains.

The issue has also drawn attention outside China.

In September, U.S. regulators opened an investigation into door handle failures on electric vehicles after reports of delayed rescues.

China’s ban could reshape global vehicle design.

The country now leads the world in car exports, overtaking Japan. Domestic brands may extend compliant designs to overseas models to simplify production.

Foreign automakers selling vehicles in China may also redesign global platforms.

Aligning with Chinese standards could reduce regulatory friction and manufacturing costs.

If finalized, the rule would mark a clear shift in EV design priorities. Safety, not aesthetics, would lead the next phase of door engineering.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com

📌 TOPINDIATOURS Eksklusif ai: Musician Cancelled as AI Falsely Accuses Him of Horr

Who needs vicious music columnists when you live in the age of AI?

Apparently not Ashley MacIsaac, a Canadian fiddler, singer, and songwriter who was labeled a sex criminal by Google’s AI overview.

According to the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, event organizers at the Sipekne’katik First Nation, north of Halifax, canceled an upcoming performance featuring MacIsaac after Google incorrectly described him as a sex offender.

The paper reports that the misinformation was the result of one of Google’s AI summaries — brief summations it helpfully plasters above all other search results — which blended the musician’s biography with another person who bears the same name.

“Google screwed up, and it put me in a dangerous situation,” MacIsaac told the paper.

Though the AI overview has since been updated, MacIsaac explained that the situation presents a huge dilemma for him as a touring musician. For one thing, there’s no telling how many other event organizers passed on hiring him because of the libelous claim, or how many potential audience members got the wrong impression, but not the correction.

“People should be aware that they should check their online presence to see if someone else’s name comes in,” MacIsaac told the Globe.

After the truth came to light, the Sipekne’katik First Nation issued an apology, and extended a future welcome to the musician.

“We deeply regret the harm this error caused to your reputation, your livelihood, and your sense of personal safety,” a First Nation spokesperson wrote in a letter shared with the newspaper. “It is important to us to state clearly that this situation was the result of mistaken identity caused by an AI error, not a reflection of who you are.”

A representative for Google, meanwhile, said that “search, including AI Overviews is dynamic and frequently changing to show the most helpful information. When issues arise — like if our features misinterpret web content or miss some context — we use those examples to improve our systems, and may take action under our policies.”

Yet as MacIsaac correctly asserts, reputational risk is a difficult thing to repair. There’s no telling how far that misinformation might have spread — and when a corporation rolls out lazy software with obvious flaws, who’s responsible for the damage?

More on Google: Google Caught Replacing News Headlines With AI-Generated Nonsense

The post Musician Cancelled as AI Falsely Accuses Him of Horrific Crimes appeared first on Futurism.

🔗 Sumber: futurism.com