JS Tan

The case for sabotage Creative tactics for a tech worker strike

We've just published the first response to our call for new organizing tactics in the tech sector, by an anonymous software engineer: The Case for Sabotage collectiveactionintech.substack.com/p/the-case-f...

Rethinking AI diffusion in China Enterprise software and cloud adoption have a key role in AI diffusion.

My take on the debate on AI diffusion in China.

www.valueadded.tech/p/rethinking...

"Boss culture", 996, and KPI-driven management in China's tech sector A viral Alibaba resignation letter gives an inside look at labor relations in China's tech sector.

A viral resignation letter from a veteran Alibaba employee offers a rare look at the company’s culture—and the issues now holding it back. Here’s my take on what the letter reveals, and what it means for China’s tech giants as they pivot into the AI era.

www.valueadded.tech/p/the-innova...

Why layoffs are the new normal in tech A story of labor relations in America's most innovative industry.

Microsoft just laid off another 9,000 workers—its largest cut in two years. If you’re trying to make sense of what’s happening across the industry, here’s my recent piece on how to understand the non-stop waves of tech layoffs.

www.valueadded.tech/p/why-layoff...

Time For A New Playbook? A call for new strategies to rebuild the tech worker movement.

The tech worker movement is in crisis and we want to hear from YOU!

We’re launching a new series to highlight the problems that workers are facing in this new political environment. Submissions are open until July 30th, 2025. Please send your responses to hello@collectiveaction.tech

Why layoffs are the new normal in tech A story of labor relations in America's most innovative industry.

This week, I wrote about the ongoing tech layoffs- a topic that I’ve been thinking about for a long time both as a former tech worker and an organizer in the sector. I argue that layoffs are the tip of a broader transformation in labor relations happening in tech.
www.valueadded.tech/p/why-layoff...

AI WORKERS' INQUIRY AI Workers' Inquiry is a FAccT 2025 CRAFT workshop that brings together workers, organizers, and labor experts to explore how AI is transforming our workplaces and discuss strategies for collective re...

Join us at #FAccT2025 for the AI Workers’ Inquiry CRAFT workshop, where workers, organizers, and labor experts will explore how AI is transforming our workplaces and discuss strategies for collective resistance. RSVP and more info: ai-workers-inquiry.github.io

DeepSeeking the Truth | JS Tan Panic about the rise of DeepSeek says more about Silicon Valley than it does about the reality of innovation in China.

When DeepSeek released its latest AI model earlier this year, Silicon Valley panicked. Some claimed it was a product of the Chinese state—or the result of industrial espionage. But as @js-tan.bsky.social argues, the reality is far more complex.

thanks! 🙏

The Return of Vertical Integration Cars, clouds, and the turn away from the fissured firm.

"Across sectors, vertical integration is re-emerging not as a relic of the past, but as a forward-looking strategy for resilience, coordination, and control."

Another great post from @js-tan.bsky.social's indispensable newsletter

www.valueadded.tech/p/the-return...

Thanks Ben!

Great analysis of the political economy of China's "overcapacity" in electric vehicles.

"This is where China's political structure is a problem. The extent to which the Chinese state is embedded and autonomous is complicated by the loose coupling between central and local governments."

The key idea is that China's decentralized state-structure enables *political* competition among local governments, which creates strong incentives to back local firms and thus a systemic reluctance to allow inefficient or underperforming firms to exit the market.

Explaining overcapacity in China's EV sector How China's decentralized state structure enables involution-style competition.

This piece looks at how China’s industrial policy—while effective at scaling production—also drives involution-style competition, marked by overcapacity and unsustainable price-cutting. Contrary to how Beijing is often portrayed, this is not its intended outcome.

www.valueadded.tech/p/explaining...

The political economy of China's cloud A deep dive.

Last week, ChinaTalk ran my primer on China’s cloud computing sector. This week, I’m back with a deep dive—unpacking the institutional and structural constraints shaping the industry that underpins China’s AI ambitions.

And heads up: this one’s a long one.

www.valueadded.tech/p/the-politi...

Why China's Cloud Lags A primer

Thrilled to share my latest piece in @chinatalk.bsky.social on the political economy of China’s cloud computing industry—and how the country’s distinct features has set its cloud firms on a different path from their U.S. counterparts.

www.chinatalk.media/p/the-politi...

Tariff Wreckage: The Myth of America's Manufacturing Comeback Trump’s tariffs promise industrial revival. Even if it does, it overlooks the simple fact that fixing American industry alone won't restore middle-class prosperity.

Trump's promise to bring back American manufacturing has two problems: 1) modern manufacturing won't generate many jobs and 2) the factory jobs that people are nostalgic for were union jobs—something that Trump & Musk are actively undermining.

www.valueadded.tech/p/tariff-wre...

As always, it was awesome to be on @techwontsave.us to chat with @parismarx.com! Thanks for having me on 🙏

Are data centers a new growth engine for developing countries? The Malaysian government is counting on attracting data center investment to transform the country into a digital powerhouse. But is this a viable path that can enable broad economic development?

From Malaysia to Louisiana, governments in the Global South and US heartland are betting on datacenters to drive growth. But can they deliver like factories once did?

I explore why they fall short—and how they risk deepening dependency rather than overcoming it.
www.valueadded.tech/p/are-data-c...

Industrial Policy for the Knowledge Economy: The case of Hangzhou How the city's talent-focused policies fueled a high-tech revolution.

DeepSeek, Unitree, and BrainCo—leaders in AI, robotics, and brain-computer interface technologies—are all Hangzhou-based.

Thats no accident. I wrote about how Hangzhou used talent-focused policies to outpace tier one cities in emerging technology innovations.

www.valueadded.tech/p/industrial...

How Every Superpower Stole Its Way to the Top The U.S. stole its way to the top—now it's trying to stop China from doing the same.

China’s technological rise has sparked countless accusations of theft. Yet, what’s often overlooked is that this was the very same strategy once used by other advanced economies—especially the United States—to climb to the top.

www.valueadded.tech/p/how-every-...

Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE Twenty-one civil service employees have resigned from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they're refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.”

✊👇 Opportunity for activism right here ✊👇 We're documenting collective actions by tech workers in the federal government. Taking all steps to protect anonymity in the process

Help us out by messaging with relevant actions. DMs are open

Why has China has shied away from enterprise applications of AI, focusing instead on embedding AI into consumer platforms?

To understand this, we must look at the socio-economic factors shaping China's digital economy.

www.valueadded.tech/p/why-chinas...

Divergent Approaches to AI Commercialization (Part 1): Comparing the U.S. and China Whether or not AI is just hype will depend on its commercialization. The U.S. and China are taking fundamentally different approaches to this problem.

The same technology can be diffused along radically different paths depending on a country's political economy. This is what we're seeing with recent efforts to commercialize AI in the U.S. and China.

Read my new post with @aiproem.bsky.social:

www.valueadded.tech/p/divergent-...

Tech titans stand with Donald Trump to kill off activism in Silicon Valley Fearful employees have done little to protest against the rightward shift of leaders such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg

The gist of this article is that tech workers are afraid to organize now. Not surprising, and I mostly agree. But the comparison with early tech activism under Trump 1.0 overlooks how organizing has shifted—it's now more covert, with workers quietly building power.

www.ft.com/content/6bad...

For anyone alarmed with the indiscriminate firings in DC right now— this is the piece to read. @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa organized a union at a Musk-run business. Learnings below 👇

I've deeply enjoyed your work! There isn't enough about development on substack so your work fills a much needed gap

"In a world where workers are increasingly excluded from the economic gains of the platform economy, this shift should, in theory, re-anchor economic value in labor, reversing decades of wealth concentration in asset-light, rentier industries."

How we forgot about production—and why it’s back on the agenda A brief history of economic value from the factory floor to the platform economy.

New post on the intellectual history of economic value—how it was once inextricably linked to production and how that link was severed. Hopefully this provides some useful context as the U.S. and China shift away from platform capitalism and back to manufacturing. www.valueadded.tech/p/how-we-for...

I’m co-editing an “AI and society in China” special issue for Chinese Sociological Review. Paper proposal due on 04/30. Full manuscript due on 09/15. Let me know if you have any questions! More info:
think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issu...