Ideas

Our home for arguments, opinions, and essays. We prioritize local voices — entrepreneurs, workers, activists, politicians, regulators, end users — to highlight local ideas with global implications.

A photo showing a an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping behind a statue of late communist leader Mao Zedong.

Ideas 16 May 2023

China’s new AI rules protect people — and the Communist Party’s power

The regulations offer data protection and transparency, but also strengthen censorship and control.

By Johanna M. Costigan

A photo of a silhouette of a person working on her laptop with Tokyo city in the background.

Ideas 15 May 2023

Japan’s sleepy tech scene is ready for a comeback

After decades of slumber, the country that brought us bullet trains and Nintendo has mustered some momentum.

By Roland Kelts

An illustration in red and block showing a silhouette of a person sitting in front of a television screen.

Ideas 4 May 2023

Chinese streaming platforms and chill?

In Southeast Asia, Netflix has competition from Baidu's iQiyi and Tencent's WeTV.

By William Yuen Yee

Ideas 11 April 2023

Amazon needs to be clear about removing items on behalf of authoritarian governments

It's too easy to quietly order the removal of pages or products.

By Jan Rydzak and Dana Floberg

A an illustration of a computer chip over a graphic of an eagle.

Ideas 5 April 2023

The U.S. shouldn’t make its semiconductor policy all about China

American chip policy doesn’t just hurt China. It hurts Taiwan, too.

By Johanna M. Costigan and Aidan Powers-Riggs

A worker packs a Vivo cellphone on an assembly line.

Ideas 3 March 2023

How Chinese smartphones won the hearts (and wallets) of Indonesia

Indonesians spend more time on their smartphones than anyone else. And 70% of those smartphones are Chinese.

By William Yuen Yee

Ideas 28 February 2023

China is bored of Baidu. Here’s how their AI chatbot will transform the company

"Ernie" will be much more than just a ChatGPT copycat.

By Kevin Xu

A woman looks at her cellphone near soldiers standing guard outside a government building hit by Russian rockets in Ukraine.

Ideas 24 February 2023

How Ukraine is beating Russia’s disinformation campaigns

A new report details how Ukrainian civil society is pushing back on Russian narratives.

By Galyna Petrenko

A food deliveryman working for Baedal Minjok, a South Korean food delivery unicorn startup, rubs his eyes during his night-time food delivery on a motorbike.

Ideas 21 December 2022

Millions of workers are managed by algorithms

One day, that could be normal. Here’s what we need to do about it.

By PeiChin Tay and Oliver Large

Ideas 30 November 2022

China’s livestream shopping craze hits a ceiling

Bytedance is looking for other e-commerce revenue streams even as TikTok plans to bring the trend to the U.S.

By Rui Ma

Ideas 30 November 2022

How Chinese influencers are dodging YouTube’s anti-propaganda rules

Content from tense frontiers like Xinjiang is being swamped by a litany of rural scenery and delicious food.

By Daria Impiombato and Hsi-ting Pai

Ideas 27 September 2022

Japan struggles to give up floppy disks and fax machines for the digital age

The tricky task falls to Kono Taro, Japan’s maverick tech crusader