Rethinking ‘Made in China’, and Who Owns Your Digital Self? with Jen Campbell, Felina Tan and Jag Sharma - E111
‘Made in China’ is not the insult it once was. It now means world-leading, culture-defining tech innovation.
Is it being used for the betterment of mankind? Can Western civilisation cope with a world where China leads, without defaulting to xenophobia?
These questions arise amid a backdrop of digital work clones and an afterlife avatar of lost loved ones - stay ahead of the curve with Jag, Jen and Felina on Disconnected this week…
This episode of Disconnected covers:
China’s evolving tech leadership and Western identity
AI, work, and the erosion of dignity
Grief, intimacy and digital humans
The gap between AI hype and economic reality
Episode Highlights:
“What if China isn’t just catching up anymore? What if China is actually setting the pace…?” - 4:20 - Jag Sharma
“Some of the pushback against Chinese technology is legitimate… but mixed in with that there can also be something else: insecurity, protectionism, cultural bias, and at times, a kind of reflexive xenophobia.” - 5:05 - Jag Sharma
“I don't think any Chinese companies set out thinking, ‘I must succeed in the West’. Their market is their home market. They know that the money is there for them to become big.” - 7:20 - Jen Campbell
“For whatever reason some people still do have this perception that, ‘Made in China’ means it's going to be flimsy, it's not going to be resilient, it's going to be cheap. I think that's an archaic mindset.” - 10:10 - Felina Tan
“Tech workers in China are being told by their bosses to train AI agents to do their own jobs… not some generic task, but the actual day‑to‑day work.” - 21:50 - Felina Tan
“We’re not talking like a chat bot in a text window. This is a lifelike, digital human… she can see him, she can hear him, she can have conversations with him.” - 24:50 - Felina Tan
“All that time you spent training your digital work clone; Why isn't it your own IP? That's your own personality right there.” - 30:30 - Jen Campbell
“Sora may have been one of the clearest examples yet of an AI product that won the imagination but lost the spreadsheet.” - 44:05 - Jag Sharma
Links & references:
Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/
Felina Tan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/
Jag Sharma: