Jason Lau
Areas of interest
- Algorithmic Governance
- Artificial Intelligence and Society
- Chinese Digital Cultures
- Transpacific Technology
- Ethnography of Technology
- Design and Innovation
Biography
Jason C. Lau is the Richard Charles Lee Postdoctoral Fellow at the Asian Institute and the Centre for the Study of the United States, the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto.
An anthropologist of technology, he studies digital and algorithmic systems in China and their consequences for everyday life. His research asks how technologies take shape under particular political, economic, and infrastructural conditions, and how people navigate systems whose rules and operations are often only partially visible. Supported by the National Science Foundation and the Wenner-Gren Foundation, his work draws on ethnographic research in China and Hong Kong, including fieldwork in Shenzhen’s mobile-phone industry and research on digital platforms and algorithmic governance.
His recent article, “Governance Through Uncertainty,” published in the Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT ’26), examines what Chinese algorithmic systems reveal about the limits of prevailing approaches to fairness, accountability, and transparency. He is developing this research into a book project. His public writing includes “The Shanzhai Paradigm” (M+ Magazine, 2026), an essay on copying, constraint, and innovation in Chinese design.
He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the New School for Social Research and previously taught at Parsons School of Design in New York. At the Munk School, he teaches on digital cultures, platforms, AI, and technology across American and Asian societies.
Select publications
Lau, Jason C. 2026. “Governance Through Uncertainty: What Chinese Algorithmic Systems Reveal About the Limits of Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency.” In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT ’26). ACM, New York, NY, 17 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3805689.3806495
Lau, Jason C. 2026. “The Shanzhai Paradigm: Copying, Constraint, and the Logic of Design.” M+ Magazine, August 14, 2026. https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/magazine/the-shanzhai-paradigm/
Awards & recognition
2020–2024 — M+ / Design Trust Research Fellowship (awarded 2020; research conducted 2022–2024, delayed by COVID-19): Awarded for research on Chinese alternative design, focusing on innovative practices outside mainstream industry paradigms.
2021 Stanley Diamond Memorial Award in the Social Sciences: Recognized for outstanding doctoral research in the social sciences.
2017-2018 Graduate Institute for Design, Ethnography & Social Thought Fellowship: Supported interdisciplinary research and workshop development at the intersection of design, ethnography, and social sciences.
2014-2016 Jury Membership, China Electronics and Information Industry Development Research Institute: Served as a jury member evaluating advancements in mobile technology.
2013-2015 National Science Foundation, Division of Social and Economic Sciences: Funded research on the impact of mobile technology in China, exploring its social and technological implications.
2013-2015 Wenner-Gren Foundation Fieldwork Research Grant: Supported ethnographic fieldwork on the use and design of mobile phones made in China, emphasizing user interaction and design processes.
