Qiaoyu Cai

Tsinghua Institute for Advanced Study in Humanities and Social Sciences (TIAS) Society of Fellow Postdoctoral Scholar, Tsinghua University, Sept 2025 – Present
Fangtang Critical AI and Foundational Innovation Studies Institute, Research Fellow, Tsinghua University, Feb 2026 – Present

Ph.D. in English Language and Literature, University of California, Santa Barbara
M.A. in English Language and Literature, Boston University
M.S. in Communication Studies, Boston University
B.E. in Computer Science and Technology, Tongji University

“The Cultural Politics of Artificial Intelligence in China” (Theory, Culture & Society, 42(3), 21-40, https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764241304718)
“Quantum Computing and National Allegory: Liu Cixin’s Three-Body Trilogy and the Question of Postsocialist Modernity” (Cultural Critique, vol. 131, 2026, 98-137, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/990773)
“Engineering the Sense(s) of History-Kling, Sora, and the Politics of Language in Generative Video Intelligence” (Prism: Theory and Modern Chinese Literature, forthcoming)
“Topos as Critique of the Technological Modern” (Culture, Theory & Critique, 1–21, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14735784.2026.2713470)
(Co-authored with Fabian Offert and Paul Kim) “Synthesizing Proteins on the Graphics Card: Protein Folding and the Limits of Critical AI Studies” (AI & Society, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-026-02917-x)

Organizer and Host, Fangtang Inaugural International Forum, “AI Next: Key Questions and Philosophical Responses”, Fangtang Institute, Tsinghua University, 2026
Organizer and Judge, Fangtang “AI for Humanities” Global Essay Contest, Fangtang Institute, Tsinghua University, 2026
UC Humanities Research Institute Graduate Student Dissertation Support Grant, University of California, 2024-2025
China Studies Research Award, China Understanding and Peace Fund and Matching Funds, UCSB Graduate Division, 2024
Humanities Research Fellowship (Departmental Nomination), UCSB Graduate Division, 2024

Last Updated: May 2026