On Sinofuturism
Resisting Techno-Orientalism in Understanding Kuaishou, Douyin, and Chinese A.I.
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Abstract
Dominant design narratives about “the future” contain many contemporary manifestations of “orientalism” and Anti-Chineseness. In US discourse, Chinese people are often characterized as a single communist mass and the primary market for which this future is designed. By investigating the construction of modern Chinese pop culture in Chinese internet and artificial intelligence, and discussing different cultural expressions across urban, rural, and queer Chinese settings, I challenge external Eurocentric and orientalist perceptions of techno-culture in China, positing instead a view of Sinofuturism centered within contemporary Chinese contexts.
Contributor Notes
Yunying Huang is a Media Artist, Creative Technologist, and Multimedia Designer. Incorporating A.I., Chinese pop culture, and social media, Huang creates innovative experiences for media platforms that address and challenge the ultra-unreal nature of everyday lives in China. Her work explores our contemporary relationship with emerging technology, social identities, self-expression, and aesthetics, interrogating and intervening in the circulation of dominant ideology, agency, and creativity in our everyday lives, online and off. She is a recent graduate (MFA) of the Media Design Practices program at the ArtCenter College of Design. Email: yunyinghhh@gmail.com