The “Future of Work” is usually a story told to us by experts and consultants. This course is an invitation to take that story back.
Reimagining Asian Labor Futures
Course Description
An Invitation to Explore
The “Future of Work” is usually a story told to us by experts and consultants. This course is an invitation to take that story back.
We aren’t here to listen to lectures. Instead, we’re using the research and speculative threads from the Asian Labor Futures Substack (https://
Who this is for: Labor activists and organizers who feel like “outsiders” to tech discourse but are immersed in organizing workers and witnessing how we navigate algorithmic control.
- Session Schedule: 5 Online Sessions / 1.5 hour per session
- Course Fee: USD$60 (Regular Price) / USD$40 (Students/Workers/Unemployed)
- Class Size: Class Limited to 10 Participants
Registration Deadline: May 5, 2026
Course Facilitator
Kriangsak Teerakowitkajorn is the founder and director of the Just Economy and Labor Institute in Bangkok. Currently based in the US, he is a Just Tech Fellow (2024–2026) with the Social Science Research Council. He co-produces and co-hosts The Continent of Resistance podcast for the Asian Labour Review and co-convenes the Asian Labor School. His expertise is grounded in years of labor activism research, facilitation training, and leadership in movement-building with worker groups.
Class Time
- 6:30pm: Pakistan
- 7:00pm: India/Sri Lanka
- 7:30pm: Bangladesh
- 8:00pm: Myanmar
- 8:15pm: Nepal
- 8:30pm: Indonesia/Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam
- 9:30pm: Hong Kong/Taiwan/China/Philippines/Singapore/Malaysia
- 10:30pm: Japan/Korea
Session Schedule
Session 1 (May 6, 2026): Why “Asian Labor Futures”?
We begin by grounding ourselves: what is the Asian Labor Futures project, why does it exist, and what are we doing here together?
We’ll trace the arc of the course from algorithmic control to care work automation to collective imagination and discuss why the conversation around technology and labor has largely been dictated to us. This session is about getting oriented, building trust, and naming the questions we’re each carrying into this space.
Session 2 (May 13, 2026): Decoding Algorithms
Platform work and algorithms are often invoked to make us feel like resistance is futile. In this session, we’ll unpack what algorithmic control actually means and, more importantly, share stories of how algorithms show up in our work.
Session 3 (May 20, 2026): Demystifying AIs
“Artificial Intelligence” sounds intimidating, but it’s still material. We’ll pull back the curtain on what “intelligence” actually looks like in a machine and where it fails to capture embodied knowledge and collective intelligence.
Session 4 (May 27, 2026) : Care and Automation
From care robots to digital companions, capital is trying to automate our reproductive and emotional labor. We’ll discuss the most recent trends and speculate on what it means to work with machines, and how we can protect the relational foundations that keep our communities meaningful.
Session 5 (June 3): Imagining as a Political Act
In our final session, we lean into the speculative. Drawing on stories and visions from across Asia and the Global South, we’ll explore how to imagine our own labor futures—not as predictions, but as blueprints for the worlds we are fighting.
Pre-Approval for Registration Required
This course requires an application. For this course, the facilitator would like to encourage youth activists and organizers working directly with platform and data workers in the digital economy. Participants with these profiles will be given priority. If you fit these criteria and are interested in joining, please email the course facilitator: kriangsak@justeconlabor.org for pre-approval to proceed with registration.
To contact us: convenor@labourschool.org
