🚨Some news🚨 After 2.5 years, I’m leaving Rest of World! It’s been an absolute honour to edit such talented journalists globally, but I’m itching to do more of my own writing.

My last task is to hire the next Features Editor. Could it be you?

Apply: restofworld.org/about/hiring/f…

I spent a year reporting on the effects of technology on work and workers for Rest of World, alongside Lam Le, Laís Martins and Kimberly Mutandiro.

This week, our fellowship culminates in a special series of features about aging gig workers.

restofworld.org/2024/aging-glo…

In today’s WIRED magazine, Varsha Bansal and I delve into the world of India’s election

Our investigation uncovered a slew of AI-driven tactics reshaping political outreach. Here are 8 audio/video AI campaign artifacts used in the 2024 Indian elections ⬇️

Almost half of Mexico’s public EV charging infrastructure is Tesla’s.

As more Chinese EVs like BYD are gaining market share, a local company is focused on growing a charging network compatible with Chinese cars. 🔋 🚘

My story on Vemo Rest of World

restofworld.org/2024/vemo-byd-…

Scoop: GPT4o has a data pollution problem: its longest Chinese tokens are almost entirely (>90%) about porn and gambling spam, likely due to insufficient data cleaning. But it could lead to tricking the model to hallucinate or generate unsafe answers. technologyreview.com/2024/05/17/109…

A middle-aged couple in China are making POV-style videos on Douyin as internet users’ perfect, fictional parents.

“Before doing this, I didn’t know so many children were in need of love,” the couple told us from Shaanxi.
restofworld.org/2024/china-dou… via Rest of World

utterly chilling Rest of World piece on how the BJP weaponises whatsapp for elections.

just in Mandi, a v small town in Himachal Pradesh with a population of 26,000, admins affiliated with the BJP run a network of more than FOUR HUNDRED WhatsApp groups

restofworld.org/2024/bjp-whats…

Along with a talented group of reporters and editors, I've been laid off from the The Wall Street Journal as it restructures in Asia.

Thankful to colleagues, readers and those who've shared their knowledge with me. If you know of any cool opportunities, I'd love to hear from you.

'When Chinese software engineer Ben joined TikTok’s San Jose office in 2023, he felt as if he had entered a workplace back in his home country. All but a handful in his 100-strong team were Chinese nationals.'
Caiwei Chen Viola Zhou
restofworld.org/2024/tiktok-ch…

A deep dive into TikTok's organizational culture and its relationship with Bytedance. The article in a nutshell: the reliance on ByteDance executives for key business decisions suggests that TikTok is more Chinese at its core. Ultimately, it's about who's calling the shots, and

Eager to make TikTok as profitable as its Chinese sister Douyin, ByteDance leadership have been deploying talents and strategies from China to help the app grow – at a high political risk.

Chinese staff share their experience with TikTok U.S. Caiwei Chen
restofworld.org/2024/tiktok-ch…

Ahead of a potential TikTok ban, we spoke to over a dozen current employees to reveal what it's really like working there. Yes, it's more Chinese than you think, and it's less about politics and more about profit. My latest with Viola Zhou:
restofworld.org/2024/tiktok-ch…

No, TSMC's difficulties in Arizona are not the result of Confucian values or any other kind of unbeatable East Asian cultural advantage.

noahpinion.blog/p/whos-afraid-…

I finally finished my latest blog post!

🧵A lot has been written about the ongoing issues at TSMC’s Fab 21. In the article I argue that the conflict between American and Taiwanese workers is about more than just culture conflict: it’s about policy.

open.substack.com/pub/mspence/p/…

Must read: Incredible story from Rest of World about the giant mess the TSMC expansion into the U.S. has become. So many jaw dropping details. restofworld.org/2024/tsmc-ariz…

Incredible reporting by Viola Zhou Rest of World restofworld.org/2024/tsmc-ariz…

This story provides a much-needed counterpoint to the narrative that 'Asians simply work harder. Everyone else is just lazy.' While I have no doubt that TSMC owes much of its success to its exceptionally

Kudos to Viola Zhou and Rest of World, this is a great piece on the growing pains at the TSMC sites in Arizona. Tons of fascinating details in here. restofworld.org/2024/tsmc-ariz…

Taiwanese managers attending classes to learn that Americans need positive reinforcement is hilarious