Audrey Tang began reading classical works like the Shūjīng and Tao Te Ching at the age of 5 and learned the programming language Perl at the age of 12. Now, the autodidact and self-described “conservative anarchist” is a software engineer and the first non-binary digital minister of Taiwan. Their work focuses on how social and digital technologies can foster empathy, democracy, and human progress.
Audrey joined Tyler to discuss how Taiwan approached regulating Chinese tech companies, the inherent extraterritoriality of data norms, how Finnegans Wake has influenced their approach to technology, the benefits of radical transparency in communication, why they appreciate the laziness of Perl, using “humor over rumor” to combat online disinformation, why Taiwan views democracy as a set of social technologies, how their politics have been influenced by Taiwan’s indigenous communities and their oral culture, what Chinese literature teaches about change, how they view Confucianism as a Daoist, how they would improve Taiwanese education, why they view mistakes in the American experiment as inevitable – but not insurmountable, the role of civic tech in Taiwan’s pandemic response, the most important remnants of Japanese influence remaining in Taiwan, why they love Magic: The Gathering, the transculturalism that makes Taiwan particularly open and accepting of LGBT lifestyles, growing up with parents who were journalists, how being transgender makes them more empathetic, the ways American values still underpin the internet, what he learned from previous Occupy movements, why translation, rotation, and scaling are important skills for becoming a better thinker, and more.
Follow us on Twitter and IG: @cowenconvos
Email: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
Follow Audrey on Twitter
Follow Tyler on Twitter
Newsletter
Peter Singer on Utilitarianism, Influence, and Controversial Ideas
Seth Godin on Marketing, Meaning, and the Bibs We Wear
Simon Johnson on Banking, Technology, and Prosperity
Kevin Kelly on Advice, Travel, and Tech
Anna Keay on Historic Architecture, Monarchy, and 17th Century Britain
Jessica Wade on Chiral Materials, Open Knowledge, and Representation in STEM
Jonathan GPT Swift on Jonathan Swift
Tom Holland on History, Christianity, and the Value of the Countryside
Yasheng Huang on the Development of the Chinese State
Brad DeLong on Intellectual and Technical Progress
Glenn Loury on the Cover Story and the Real Story
Paul Salopek on Walking the World
Rick Rubin on Listening, Taste, and the Act of Noticing
Katherine Rundell on the Art of Words
Conversations with Tyler 2022 Retrospective
John Adams on Composing and Creative Freedom
Jeremy Grantham on Investing in Green Tech
Ken Burns on the Complications of History
Mary Gaitskill on Subjects That Are Vexing Everybody
Reza Aslan on Martyrdom, Islam, and Revolution
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Positive Thinking Mind
In the Great Khan’s Tent
Visualize Meditations
The Mel Robbins Podcast
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast