From Rengong (artificial/human labor) to Intelligence: Rethinking AI and Labor in and from China

Artificial intelligence is often imagined as autonomous technology, yet its development continues to depend heavily on human labour.

In this keynote, Julie Yujie Chen will examine the emergence of AI data labour in China and the social, technological and economic forces shaping it. Drawing on the Chinese expression “no human labour, no intelligence”, the session will explore how digital labour, industrial development, employment pressures and cultural understandings of work intersect in the growth of AI.

The keynote will also consider what the experience of China can contribute to a broader research agenda on AI supply chains and the changing relationship between labour and technology.

The session forms part of INDL-9, the ninth annual conference of the International Network on Digital Labour, held at the ILO in Geneva.