Angela Ke Li (PhD ’20, ICR), assistant professor in the Department of Communications and New Media, at the National University of Singapore will present this talk. Li was a Fung Global Fellow 2023-2024, Princeton University.

About this ICR Research Seminar

In a world where technology was often hailed as remedy for deeply rooted social ills, suggesting the opposite—that technology entrenches the very problem it claims to solve—may sound odd. Yet this paradox becomes evident when we examine the case of Didi Chuxing, China’s ride-hailing giant and an icon of digital innovation. With the promise of curing the perilous taxi industry, Didi burst onto the scene in 2012. Unfortunately, it didn’t take very long before the company turned into the very thing it proclaimed to revolutionize. Why does a tech company often fall short of its fixing promises? Drawing upon my book in progress, this talk aims to contextualize the nascent stages of the startup within the historical context of China’s taxi industry, one that can be described, borrowing Tania Li’s terminology, as an extractive regime characterized by a hierarchical structure of interests and the deep exploitation of taxi drivers. While Didi frequently portrayed itself as an agent of change, a closer look reveals that during its formative years, the company tended to work within, rather than against, the preexisting political-economic structures.

Presented by the Institute of Communications Research.