Darren Byler, University of Washington, discusses the working paper "Digital Enclosure and Unfreedom in Northwest China."

The author will join for a conversation about their work. No formal presentation will be given; please read in advance. A link to the reading will be sent with the registration confirmation.

Part of the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) seminar series.

Co-sponsored by the Departments of Anthropology and Science & Technology Studies (STS).

About the author

Darren Byler is a postdoctoral researcher in the ChinaMade project at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He received his PhD from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington in 2018. His research focuses on Uyghur dispossession, infrastructural power and "terror capitalism" in the city of Ürümchi, the capital of Chinese Central Asia (Xinjiang). He has published research articles in the Asia-Pacific Journal, Contemporary Islam, Central Asian Survey, the Journal of Chinese Contemporary Art and contributed essays to volumes on ethnography of Islam in China, transnational Chinese cinema and travel and representation. He has provided expert testimony on Uyghur human rights issues before the Canadian House of Commons and writes a regular column on these issues for SupChina. In addition, he has published Uyghur-English literary translations (with Mutellip Enwer) in Guernica and Paper Republic. He also writes and curates the digital humanities art and politics repository The Art of Life in Chinese Central Asia, which is hosted at livingotherwise.com.

About the working paper

The author explains: "In my work I use the conceptual framing of a digital enclosure to consider the way Uyghur and Kazakh societies in Northwest China have been enveloped by a surveillance system over the past decade. I show how novel enclosures are produced and, in turn, construct new frontiers in capital accumulation and state power. The Turkic Muslim digital enclosure system gives technology companies and state authorities abilities to watch and control the movements and behavior of Muslims in increasingly intimate ways, turning them into an unfree proletariat--a docile yet productive permanent underclass."

Artwork by the artist Badiucao. Used with permission.

Keynote Speaker: Nanjala Nyabola
Cornell Students: Critical Reflections

Nanjala Nyabola, author of Travelling While Black-Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move, will be in conversation with professors Rachel Beatty Riedl, Kim Yi Dionne, and postdoc Eleanor Paynter.

Nanjala Nyabola is a writer, political analyst, and activist based in Nairobi, Kenya. Nyabola writes extensively about African society and politics, technology, international law, and feminism for academic and non-academic publications. Her first book, Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Politics in Kenya (Zed Books, 2018), was described as "a must-read for all researchers and journalists writing about Kenya today." Nyabola's ground-breaking work opens up new ways of understanding the current global online era, reframing digital democracy from the African perspective.

Nyabola’s latest book, the critically acclaimed Travelling While Black; Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move, (available electronically from the Cornell Library) is a stark reminder that the world needs to be seen through the lens of others. Her work has featured in publications including African Arguments, Al Jazeera, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy (magazine), The Guardian, New African, The New Humanitarian, The New Inquiry, New Internationalist, and World Policy Journal.

Nyabola holds a BA in African studies and political science from the University of Birmingham, an MSc in forced migration and an MSc in African studies from the University of Oxford, which she attended as a Rhodes Scholar, and a JD from Harvard Law School.

Following the dialogue, students will present select prose, poems, and visual art published as part of Global Cornell's Race and Racism Across Borders, a call that asked students and alumni to reflect on the new knowledge gained about racial dynamics when they crossed a literal or figurative border.

Register Now

Panelists:

Greg Morrisett, Dean and Vice Provost of Cornell Tech, Cornell UniversityKavita Bala, Dean, College of Computing and Information Science, Cornell UniversityYa-Qin Zhang, Dean, Tsinghua Institute for AI Industry ResearchHongjiang Zhang, Chairman, Beijing Academy of Artificial IntelligenceModerator: Ying Hua, Director, Cornell China Center

Summary: Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly common element in the design of future solutions for many aspects of life and industry. The powerful potential of AI has also generated concerns and debates. This panel of educators and scientists will offer views on critical topics and major opportunities in the AI field, consider how education programs should respond to address key challenges, and discuss models of AI education-research-industry collaboration.

Bios:

Greg Morrisett is the Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice Provost of Cornell Tech. Previously, he served as the Dean of Computing and Information Sciences (CIS) at Cornell University and was also a Professor and Associate Dean for Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Before Harvard, Morrisett served on the faculty of Cornell's Computer Science Department. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond and both his Master's and Doctorate degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. Morrisett's research focuses on the application of language and verification technology for building secure software systems.Kavita Bala is the Dean of the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science at Cornell University, which houses the departments of Computer Science, Information Science, and Statistics and Data Science. She received her S.M. and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She joined Cornell in 1999, and before becoming dean, she served as the chair of the Cornell Computer Science department. Bala leads research in computer vision and computer graphics. She co-founded the startup GrokStyle, a visual recognition AI company, which drew Ikea as a client and was acquired by Facebook in 2019. Bala is an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellow (2019) and Fellow of the SIGGRAPH Academy (2020). She is the recipient of the SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award (2020), the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay) Distinguished Alumnus Award (2021). She is also the recipient of multiple Cornell teaching awards.Ya-Qin ZHANG is a renowned scientist, technologist and business executive. He is the founder and Chairman of Blue Entropy LLC, a Seattle-based technology consulting firm. He joined Tsinghua University as the Chair Professor of AI Science in 2020, starting the Tsinghua Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR), and is now its Dean. Zhang was President of Baidu Inc. from September 2014 to October 2019. Prior to joining Baidu, Zhang was previously a key executive of Microsoft for almost 16 years, including Corporate Vice President, Managing Director of Microsoft Research Asia, and Chairman of Microsoft China. Dr. Ya-Qin Zhang has made outstanding contributions to the digital media, Internet technology and AI industry through his 550 publications, 68 US Patents and 11 monographs. He was elected to the Fellowship of American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019, and was inducted to the Australia National Academy of Engineering as the only foreign fellow in 2017. He became an IEEE Fellow in 1997 at the age of 31, making him the youngest scientist winning this honor in the 100+ year history of the organization. Dr. Zhang received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University.Hongjiang ZHANG is currently the Chairman of the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI) and Venture Partner at Sourcecode Capital. He previously served as CEO of Kingsoft Software, the CTO of Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group and the Managing Director of the Microsoft Advanced Technology Center. He was also an Assistant Managing Director and a founding member of Microsoft Research Asia and was one of the 10 Microsoft Distinguished Scientists. Dr. Zhang is a Fellow of both the Institute of IEEE and ACM, and was the recipient of the 2010 IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement Award, 2012 ACM SIGMM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award, and the winner of 2008 Asian-American Engineer of the Year Award. He has published nearly 400 academic papers and edited several academic books. He was selected as one of the top 1,000 scientists in computer science and electronics for 2019 in the world by Guide2research, ranking first among mainland Chinese scholars.

Please join us for an invited talk by Prof. Alexey Kirichenko, generously co-sponsored by the Departments of Asian Studies, History and Philosophy; the South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Religious Studies Programs; and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly. The event is open to all interested, and special accommodations can be made for access upon request.

Alexey Kirichenko is an Assistant Professor at Moscow State University, Russia where he teaches courses related to Burma, Southeast Asia, Buddhism, and Asian history. His PhD focused on Burmese royal historiography. Since 2009, he is engaged in field and archival work in Burma aimed at manuscript cataloguing and digitization, documentation of archival practices, monastic networks and Buddhist monuments, and research on the history of Buddhism. He has published extensively on various aspects of Burmese history and historiography. His current writing priorities address the issues of religious identity and knowledge production.

Due to COVID-era regulations, all attendees are required to register for this event here: http://cglink.me/2ee/r992619

Upon registration you should receive an automated email with the Zoom link. If for any reason you do not receive this email, please contact Bruno at bms297@cornell.edu.