Professor Julie Chen Delivers Keynote at INDL-9

Last week, Professor Julie Chen was a keynote speaker at the 9th Annual Conference of the International Network on Digital Labour (INDL-9). Her presentation was entitled From Rengong (artificial/labor) to Intelligence: Rethinking AI and Labor in and from China.

In this keynote, Chen examined the emergence of AI data labour in China and the social, technological, and economic forces shaping it. Drawing on the Chinese expression “no human labour, no intelligence”, she explored how digital labour, industrial development, employment pressures, and cultural understandings of work intersect in the growth of AI. In doing so, the keynote considered what the experience of China can contribute to a broader research agenda on AI supply chains and the changing relationship between labour and technology.

INDL-9 took place from September 9-11, 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland. A full recording of Chen's keynote is available on the International Labour Organization website.