Dang Nguyen
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digitaldang.bsky.social
Dang Nguyen
@digitaldang.bsky.social
1.2K followers 440 following 1.3K posts
Researcher of media technologies and infrastructures from below and across Southeast Asia

www.dangnguyen.digital
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digitaldang.bsky.social
Dang Nguyen @digitaldang.bsky.social · Sep 16
The third stack is here.

A path for ai that isn’t the stale U.S.–China binary, but something assembled, sovereign, and stubbornly local.

My essay in Noema: www.noemamag.com/a-third-path...
A Third Path For AI Beyond The US-China Binary | NOEMA
What if the future of AI isn’t defined by Washington or Beijing, but by improvisation elsewhere?
www.noemamag.com
digitaldang.bsky.social
Hanging out with my guy, Steve, of Blueworks Vintage Clothing Store.
Dang and Steve stand casually outside a shop called “BLUEWORKS.” Both are wearing caps, denim jeans, and relaxed outfits. Steve leans against the doorframe with arms folded, wearing a plaid shirt and beige shoes. Dang stands with arms crossed, wearing a navy graphic T-shirt, dark loose-fit jeans, colourful sneakers, and round sunglasses. Behind them, the shop window displays patterned shirts, clothing racks, and accessories. The scene has a friendly, easygoing street-style vibe.
November 11, 2025 at 6:09 AM
Reposted by Dang Nguyen
digitaldang.bsky.social
Fringe Existential Disagreement Studies (FEDS)
November 11, 2025 at 2:36 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
sydney day 2 👋🏻
Dang stands in a stainless-steel elevator taking a mirror selfie. They wear round tortoiseshell glasses, wireless earbuds, a blue CUSHMAN graphic T-shirt tucked into dark, wide-leg Godspeed denim trousers, and a white tote bag over one shoulder. One hand is in their pocket. The lighting reflects softly off the metal walls. a small glass of light-beige soy milk sits on a dark counter, framed by two blue cartons of Just Water. Behind the glass are clear carafes filled with different types of milk, each labelled with printed tags tied with twine.
November 10, 2025 at 10:48 PM
digitaldang.bsky.social
Hello Sydney! 👋🏻

Reporting from the University of Technology Sydney
Dang stands in a mirrored elevator taking a selfie with a phone. They wear round sunglasses, a grey jacket with the collar slightly upturned, latest drop of Godspeed jeans, and colourful sneakers. The elevator walls are metallic and reflective, and a small screen above shows a TV scene with two people talking. A poster on a beige wall reads “#ThinkSecurely: be cyber smart at UTS.” It features overlapping circles with cybersecurity tips such as “Play your part in stopping cyber-attacks,” “Back up critical files,” “Verify requests for private information,” “Think twice before clicking on links,” and “Protect your passwords.” At the centre is an image of a globe with the words “Virus Alert.” The UTS logo appears at the bottom right.
November 9, 2025 at 10:39 PM
digitaldang.bsky.social
Scrambling to finish slides for the Arguing on the Internet workshop at UTS—as I’m boarding another flight in a few hours. Excited and mildly terrified to hang with the Wikipedia crowd for the 1st time, given that the disagreements I’m bringing to the table unfold on forums and semi-secret channels.
A stylised presentation slide with a photograph of a young man sitting in front of computer screens inside a room lined with racks of phones and circuit boards. Over the image, bold yellow text reads “DISAGREEMENT AS INFRASTRUCTURAL METHOD,” with “Dang Nguyen” highlighted above in a yellow box. The typography mixes pixelated retro computer fonts and elegant cursive, evoking 1990s desktop aesthetics with icons for Internet Explorer, email, a floppy disk, and a trash bin along the bottom. A monochrome flyer for a workshop titled “Arguing on the Internet,” scheduled for 10–11 November 2025. Two cartoon speech bubbles with angry faces point fingers at each other beside the title. The text below describes the workshop’s collaborative format—participants read and comment on one another’s papers, contribute to a zine, and meet at UTS's Building 2. The aesthetic is minimal and zine-like, blending humour with academic seriousness.
November 8, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Reposted by Dang Nguyen
joshrgreenberg.bsky.social
Abolitionst Elijah P. Lovejoy was murder OTD in 1837 by a proslavery mob as he defended the Alton, IL warehouse where his printing press was hidden. This 1850s bank note also from Alton ironically features among its images an allegorical vignette of Prosperity & Liberty. Alton Bank, IL, $3, 185-.
November 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
digitaldang.bsky.social
What about suspenders?
Baby Dang sitting next to a childhood friend—whose identity is now unclear—on a metal swing in the sun. Baby Dang wears white trousers and red suspenders; the friend, blue denim overalls and a serious expression. The paint on the wall behind them is cracked and pale, throwing soft shadows over the scene. It’s the kind of photograph that feels half-posed, half-accidental: childhood gravity meeting the beginnings of style.
November 7, 2025 at 3:43 PM
digitaldang.bsky.social
Baby Dang in a white shirt and oversized tie stands in front of four impeccably dressed adults outside a restaurant with a “WELCOME TO YOU” sign. The tie hangs just slightly askew—early evidence that the flair for timing and presentation started young. Everyone looks proud, the scene glowing with that unmistakable 1990s Saigon energy: a family moment already staging the future theorist’s first fashion foreshadowing.
November 7, 2025 at 10:57 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
Such a good track, @onehitwondered.bsky.social!

Here is The Weeknd's "Starboy" ft. Daft Punk. Released in 2016, topping the charts Canada, France, Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden + US Billboard Hot 100. It was The Weeknd's 3rd and Daft Punk's only chart-topper.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Na...
November 7, 2025 at 4:07 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
Just don't it
Dang Nguyen stands smiling in front of a red granite sign for the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VinAtom) in Hanoi. They wear round sunglasses, a green scarf, a white T-shirt with a large green mushroom cloud and the words “NO NUKES!” in orange, blue pinstriped trousers, and colourful sneakers. The juxtaposition between the anti-nuclear shirt and the institute’s sign creates a wry, ironic contrast.
November 6, 2025 at 2:16 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
Hanoi 🤝 Saigon
Cambridge 🤝 Oxford
Reporter 🤝 Ethnographer
@lamle52.bsky.social 🤝 @digitaldang.bsky.social

Lam Le (Hanoi-based reporter, ex-RoW staff) and I are traveling to recycling villages in Bắc Ninh (and possibly Hưng Yên) today to understand how informal recycling works in these areas.
Dang Nguyen and Lam Le collaboration in Hanoi
November 5, 2025 at 4:24 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
Flags in the wind: an exposition
November 5, 2025 at 1:21 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
The oppressive banality of hotel breakfasts
The oppressive banality of hotel breakfasts The oppressive banality of hotel breakfasts The oppressive banality of hotel breakfasts The oppressive banality of hotel breakfasts
November 4, 2025 at 11:42 PM
digitaldang.bsky.social
👋🏻 Hanoi! Have you paid?
November 4, 2025 at 6:20 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
I woke up hungry again — it can’t be helped.

Today’s breakfast is hủ tíu mì, the Chinese–Vietnamese hybrid noodle soup: clear pork broth, chewy egg noodles and rice noodles together, a tangle of chives, minced pork, and prawns. A dish that lives somewhere between Chợ Lớn and the delta.
A stainless-steel tabletop set for breakfast at Quán Mì Cật in District 1, Saigon. In the centre is a steaming bowl of hủ tíu mì—a Chinese-Vietnamese noodle soup with both egg and rice noodles, slices of pork, minced meat, and green onions floating in clear broth. Around it sit small green bowls of lime wedges and sliced chillies, a tiny dish of chilli oil, a tall bottle of fish sauce, and a folded napkin with the shop’s pink logo and address. The light from above reflects softly off the metal surface, giving the scene a clean, everyday glow.
November 3, 2025 at 11:14 PM
digitaldang.bsky.social
November 3, 2025 at 11:51 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0ot...
November 3, 2025 at 8:11 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve been waking up hungry at absurd hours. Thankfully, Vietnam knows how to feed its early risers. Today's breakfast is bánh cuốn, silky steamed rice rolls with prawn, pork, and mushrooms.
A plate of freshly made bánh cuốn nhân thịt (Vietnamese steamed rice rolls with prawn, minced pork, and wood ear mushrooms), topped generously with crispy fried shallots and served with shredded lettuce and bean sprouts on the side. A small bowl of nước chấm (fish sauce with chili) accompanies the dish for dipping. On the right, a small floral plate holds two slices of chả lụa (Vietnamese pork sausage). There is also a green rectangular tray with a wet paper napkin from Hải Nam Restaurant neatly placed on top. The setup sits on a shiny stainless steel table typical of Vietnamese eateries.
November 2, 2025 at 11:33 PM
digitaldang.bsky.social
Saigon Sunday: night edition

First up: propaganda in neon
November 2, 2025 at 11:50 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
Live dispatch from my 6 a.m. Sunday ride in Saigon. First stop: Brother Long’s paper stall.
A small Saigon sạp báo—a street-side magazine stall tucked beneath a tree, its racks bright with glossy covers of Harper’s Bazaar, Folio, WOW, and Thời Trang. The display leans slightly against a trunk wrapped in tape, framed by a white modernist building in the background. Brother Long, the vendor, bends carefully over his low table stacked with Thanh Niên and Tuổi Trẻ, arranging the papers just so on red plastic stools. Early morning light, soft and grey, catches the edges of each magazine—a quiet choreography of routine and print in motion.
November 1, 2025 at 11:33 PM
digitaldang.bsky.social
speech and silence are twin effects of discipline; there is no escape, only power rearranging itself in the act of speaking—or not.
deleuzeforyou.bsky.social Gilles Deleuze For You @deleuzeforyou.bsky.social · 10d
One after the other, the impossibility of a Platonic language and a pre-Socratic language, of an idealistic language and a physical language, of a manic language and a schizophrenic language are exposed.
November 1, 2025 at 12:59 PM
digitaldang.bsky.social
You think you’re grown, and then your mum insists you wear this before you get on the bike.
mum's helmet
November 1, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Dang Nguyen
dianecoyle1859.bsky.social
I agree with this except would extend the definition of capital from financial to (universal basic) infrastructure; public capital is highly redistributive.
nicolasberggruen.bsky.social Nicolas Berggruen @nicolasberggruen.bsky.social · 10d
As AI spreads across all enterprises, our divided societies will fracture further unless there is some form of distribution that shares the wealth.

My piece on Universal Basic Capital in the @financialtimes.com mes.com

www.ft.com/content/9b93...
Universal basic credit would create a fair AI economy
Predistribution, not redistribution, is needed to close the inequality gap
www.ft.com
November 1, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Reposted by Dang Nguyen
digitaldang.bsky.social
Alright folks, I'm seated and my fellow passengers seem pleasant. See you on the other side! ✈️
Dang is ready to fly (probably) WARNING | DO NOT LEAN AGAINST WALL
November 1, 2025 at 12:24 AM
digitaldang.bsky.social
G'day from Melbourne Airport
October 31, 2025 at 10:56 PM