Embedded Files
Sociocultural Anthropologist
Why I co-founded Polyfoni
Why I co-founded Polyfoni
"In 2025, I gave birth to my first child who belongs to the so-called Generation Beta, defined by scholars as the first generation to be fully immersed in a world with AI, automation, and advanced technology integrated into all aspects of life. AI is indeed the buzz word these days, as we find it applied in almost everything from cellphone applications to the pharmaceutical industry and from wildlife conservation projects to sex robot programs. It is sometimes scary to think about the kind of future my child was born into. However, let us not forget that I am myself a millennial and I was born into a world of burgeoning computer technologies where my sweet childhood memories include the creaky dial-up sound of internet connection, 5.25-inch floppy disk, and matchbox mp3 player. What seems to be a natural skill for me - using computers, is something that my parents have been struggling with their whole life. So I wonder, what does a world with so much AI influence mean to us?
When algorithms permeate our lives, they provide the framework of what we see, what we think we see, and how we understand the world, often without us noticing them. Our views of the world are continuously being filtered by them. As a sociocultural anthropologist deeply grounded in a human-centred approach to understanding human behavior and relationships, I wonder what insights anthropology as a discipline and method can teach us. As a mom freshly out of maternity leave fully amazed by all the milestones a little human has achieved in only a year’s time, I wonder whether the sweet baby who is quietly sleeping in my arms today will secretly make fun of me when seeing me swear on some advanced technology in 20 years. AI brings so much fear, but also excitement and possibilities. How can I live with AI but also protect my little Gen Beta from the negative consequences of it? The question is both academically important and deeply personal. I wish Polyfoni becomes a vibrant platform for such discussions.”
Bio
Dr. Mingyuan Zhang Betancourt is a sociocultural anthropologist by training. Her most recent research covers China's global development projects in Africa and the global pharmaceutical industry and the antibiotic supply chain. She received her PhD degree from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Western Ontario (Canada) in 2018. Her doctoral research focuses on how the meaning of “being Chinese” is culturally constructed in northern Madagascar, and the social implications of Chinese-led development projects in the same region. Prior to joining the University of Oslo (Norway) as a postdoctoral researcher, she was a writing fellow at the Centre for Ethnography at the Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough (Canada). She has also taught at the Department of Anthropology and the Centre for Critical Development Studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough. At the University of Oslo, she is part of three research projects: “From Asia to Africa: Antibiotic Trajectories across the Indian Ocean,” "Universal Health Coverage: An Anthropological Study," and "How did the antibiotic pipeline run dry?" She speaks and writes Mandarin Chinese and English fluently, and has a working knowledge of French, Spanish, Norwegian, and the dialect of Malagasy spoken in northern Madagascar. She is extremely passionate about research, teaching, writing, and disseminating academic knowledge to the public. She is highly motivated, curious, creative, with experience in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Page updated
Report abuse