Residents signed petitions, organized rallies and held strategy sessions over karaoke, debating how far to push the authorities in their dispute with a developer.

The influencer Zhang Xuefeng was known for no-nonsense, some said cynical, advice about how to win in China’s educational rat race. He died at 41.

Chinese policymakers and the public have expressed high levels of optimism about A.I., even as many in the West worry about the technology’s effects on employment or humanity in general.