Welcome to Hell
Why you and my monthly newsletter belong together, plus read to the end for a sizzling hot tip on eating oysters
It’s Monday, January 27th. And after thinking seriously about this for nearly 2 years, I am so so excited to say that I am FINALLY soft launching my Substack today. The hard launch is coming next week on February 3rd. Keep your eyes peeled, folks! 🥳
I’m so deeply thrilled that you’re reading this right now. I want — in fact, I need — you to join me in this. Please subscribe to me. Follow me. Like me.
Please, stalk me — professionally. We all do it, and I’m literally asking you to do this now.
Who the Heck is Yuan?
First of all, my name is pronounced You-anne. Not You-on (no need to over-exoticize my name, cute white people in the room). My name rhymes with Suzanne. And as I generally tell folks when I meet them irl, my name is the Chinese currency. And when I’m feeling extra spicy 🌶️, I tell people my name is also a frigging dynasty.
People tend to me know me for my work on technology, law, and human rights. I was lucky enough to go to law school at McGill University in the mid 2010s, and then specialize in the endlessly fascinating and utterly important area of ~technology and the law~. I also got my Masters in Law™ from University of Ottawa during COVID-19. (Which meant that it felt about 50% real, though I did fully get my degree.)
I’m going to brag/flex for a quick second more and say that I’ve worked at some of the most prestigious institutions in the world on super important and fascinating topics. In 2017, I interned at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, a uni which you may have heard of. I worked with a small group of people examining the pressing moral issues related to artificial intelligence. Later in 2023, I worked at Amnesty International on children’s digital rights.
I’m incredibly grateful for these rewarding and deeply growing experiences. And truth is, I reckon I should probably be less self-effacing about my accomplishments if I’m being honest with myself. (I’ve lowkey learned in life to hide away from my achievements in some ways — which we’ll unpack and explore together in later issues of this Substack together.)
I’m also an artist, and I work by day as an AI tamer. What the hell does it mean to tame AI? Well, we all know that AI is unruly and that it absolutely needs to be kept in check. That’s where my work comes in.
I’m an expert in AI ethics and governance. And I’m thrilled to have stepped into a new role this month. As of a week ago, I am the Responsible AI Adoption Lead at the Applied AI Institute at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.1
As I recently wrote on LinkedIn, I’m embedded on a team of software engineers to build AI/ML tools that drive solutions toward the world we want to create — one where technology safeguards privacy 🔐, champions equity ⚖️, and fosters collective self-determination ⛓️
In my role, I’m also going to mobilize communities and amplify knowledge in order to spark participation in key policy discussions across Montreal and Canada. And as an ardent human rights activist, I will always centre the voices of marginalized and equity-seeking people in these vital conversations.
I’m only a week into the job, and I’m absolutely loving it. Subscribe now to my Substack to follow my work, and learn more about the incredible things that me and my team will achieve together — and what it means for you and the rest of ~humanity~ (or least us cute folks in Canada hehe) when it comes to AI.
My art practice is deeply interwoven with the purpose of my Substack, so read on to explore what this is all about and to get the scoop on the kind of art I do — and why.
Why the hell should I subscribe to this? I already get so many newsletters I never read.
I get it. I think I subscribe to about 20+ newsletters, and I have to admit that I only read about 30-70% of about a third of them. This is incredibly awkwardly honest to admit out loud, WHILST also trying to convince you to subscribe to my Substack now.
But here’s the thing.
The world absolutely needs my Substack. And, more than ever, we need it now.
In my cute little monthly Substack, we’re going to do two things: Together, we will uncover hidden truths and power. And we’ll also learn how to practice radical vulnerability for freedom.
Why do these things matter? Well, I’ve generally observed that people tend to think that ALL levers of power at use in the world are obvious, known, and clear. And we tend to think that there is ONE truth, and that this truth is known to everyone.
But my Substack chips away at uncovering those hidden truths and powers, shining light on what we either can’t see — or sometimes refuse to see 👀
And as a multidisciplinary artist, I am utterly obsessed with using words and image to explore and practice radical vulnerability — especially through online channels — in the pursuit of individual and collective freedom.
I’ll tell you more in my hard launch about why I’m obsessed with these things. This is an ongoing conversation. I can’t give it all away just yet ;)
Fuel for the Champions
Art, and why I’m here (self love)
I’m an artist, and I only recently started calling myself this. I’ve long been an artist in my heart. I wanted to be an artist since I was a little girl. But I finally got the courage to call myself ARTISTE when I started posting more vulnerably on Instagram around the past holidays.
Christmas is generally a horrible time for me, emotionally. Most of my Christmases have been sad, and I have felt so lonely and alone and neglected at Christmastime to be completely honest with you, especially when I was a child.
So, this past holiday, I channeled a lot of my ennui and fierce sadness into posting about my feelings on social media. It helped. And honestly, it gave me tons of courage. It really grew my self love, in a meaningful and tangible way 💗
So that’s why I’m launching a Substack, and why I know that you need to go on this journey with me. I’ve got confidence and mojo about my ideas, and I’m ready to share them with you — and the world.
Who is this Substack for?
This Substack is for artists, hackers, technologists, tinkerers, academics, and generally the biggest nerds in the room.
You’ll love my newsletter if you’re deeply curious, if you’re fascinated by the hidden things at play in the world, and if you’re relentless in your commitment to always growing & learning (knowledgemaxxing?) like me 😇
You’ll especially love my Substack if you like to laugh while exploring all the deep things 😈☺️ I’m sure you can agree that we need as much laughter as we can muster in life — and especially in this economy.
When does it drop? What will we learn?
My Substack will drop into your inboxes the first Monday of every month. It’ll launch your month with my characteristic wit, banter, pettiness, observations about hidden truths and power, and explorations on radical vulnerability in its various forms for freedom.
I’ll also share 3 small things I love in each of my Substacks. Lord knows we all love things that other people love, and it’s fun to share’em.
I’ve got the following 3 major topics planned for the next 3 issues of my Substack®:
February 3rd, 2025 — Persuasive and Vulnerable Writing 101 📝: I’m going to share the personal statement/essay I drafted that helped me get into two of Canada’s top law schools. My personal statement is intensely personal 🙈 And it is fucking excellent, if I do say myself.
It’s an incredibly powerful piece of persuasive writing. And I’m going to analyze and the tactics I used when I wrote it. I’ll also explain how you can learn to write more persuasively — and effectively — too.March 3rd, 2025 — Art Exhibit! AI, Oracles, Reality 👾: I’m going to launch a 🌟 Call for Artists 🌟 for an art exhibit I’m co-curating on AI, oracles, and reality. I’m so fucking thrilled and excited for this project.
More details on this later, but keep your eyes peeled 👀 — this November, in Montreal, Canada, I’m running this dope ass art exhibit. You won’t want to miss out.April 7th, 2025 — Relaunching my <3 love online </3 zine: In early 2020, I published a zine with friends that explored how technology transformed dating. The Digital Justice Lab gave us some funding. Numerous artists contributed to this project. It was so fun to put it together, and we did a limited run of print versions of the zine.
I’m finally ready to share it more broadly online. Keep your eyes peeled for this delightful zine, too, folks!
Goodbye, see you soon, please subscribe
So, this soft launch of my Substack has essentially become a full-fledged LAUNCH of my newsletter, in some respects.
Huge shoutout to everyone who’s read this far — truly, I would love to give you all a metaphorical five-star review and a big hug for reading until the end 🫂 And I hope to god my writing has kept you interested.
I welcome all constructive and caring feedback on this soft launch and my writing. Especially if you use your best yoda voice to tell it to me. Only sort of kidding.
Big love to you all, and so excited to get this thing going. One day, I might give y’all a little window into all the thinking and scheming it took to get to this point with my ol’ Substack.
It seriously takes SO much certainty in your self and DEEP self love to launch a crazy little project like this. I’m so grateful for that certainty and love of myself to be able to do this, and for my incredible support network.
I have no idea how to end these things, but things got personal all of a sudden so I’ll end it like a letter ☺️❤️🔥🌞
Hugs hugs to y’all, and, more soon (next month),
Yuan
I feel like we don’t really need disclaimers like this anymore, but we do a tiny bit in 2025, so it’s worth saying that: none of the words or views in my Substack reflect that of my employer, and all of the things I write in my Substack are my ideas only (fight me).