Siok Siok Tan
Siok Siok Tan
Tan Siok Siok is a filmmaker, innovator and entrepreneur whose works often explore the intersection of human interest, social change and technology.
Her latest work is an interdisciplinary exploration of the future of artificial intelligence with an AI scientist and an AI governance expert. The book she is co-authoring: AI for Humanity: Building A Sustainable AI for the Future_ (ISBN: 9781394180301), will be published by Wiley in June 2024
Siok is a visual storyteller who is insatiably curious about new technology and mediums. Her black and white iPhone photography of Beijing is a meditation on the creative possibilities of nostalgia, the mobile internet and social media. She is the author of a book of photos about the Beijing hutongs, Humans of Beijing with a companion limited edition official China Postal Service postcards. She is also the co-creator of the book “Beijing: City in Time” , an interdisciplinary collaboration with novelist Ning Ken, which won the Lu Xun Literary Prize in 2018, one of the most prestigious literary prizes in China.
Her groundbreaking documentary work has been widely featured in the international media, including CNN, The Guardian, the BBC, the Times of India, the Haaretz, Phoenix TV, South China Morning Post and Channel News Asia.
Her film, Twittamentary, tells the stories of early adopters of Twitter, pioneering the concept of “crowdsourcing” a film through social media. The making of the film has been written into a case study on innovation and social media that is taught at top universities around the world.
Siok is also a venture creator and startup mentor who has spoken at the world’s top technology and media conferences such as the World Economic Forum, SXSW and WPP STREAM. She is a mentor to early stage startups at SOSV group’s Chinaccelerator and MOX, Accelerating Asia as well as China’s Tsinghua University’s TusStar.incubator network.
Siok previously founded Kinetic ONE, a social video platform in China with channels focused on youth culture, fashion and lifestyle as well as food and wine, garnering a total of more than 300 million views. K1 delivered digital marketing campaigns for top global clients such as Intel, Dell, Ford Motors, Treasury Wine Estate, LG and Agoda.
She worked as an executive producer for Discovery Channel in Asia, and the films and programs she executive produced, garnered multiple awards and nominations at the Asian TV Awards and Taiwan’s Golden Bell Awards