The first conference of 2023 for the MDMP project is coming up in February. The project team, particularly Jesper, Han and Hailing, have all been preparing articles throughout November and December, thinking about the questions posed by the event. Many of the questions are empirical – requiring much needed ethnographic and empirical data to answer:

  • How is ADMS understood in the Chinese context? And who are the key players/stakeholders?
  • What are its key features and trajectories?
  • What is China’s ambition in the area of ADM, domestically and internationally?
  • How are ADM technologies and systems used in different settings and institutions in Chinese societies?

 

Others are more philosophical, considering the internatioanl implications of digitalization and technologically delegated decision making capacities. Jesper, who is co-organizing the event with Haiqing Yu of RMIT, will attend in person in Melbourne, as will Rachel, who is serving as one of the discussants. Han and Hailing, who are in China currently doing fieldwork, will present online. The event will be a reunion of many colleagues who participated in our opening conference in May 2021, and we are looking forward to considering the technologies of automation in international conversations.