Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible without the support and contributions of numerous individuals, communities, and institutions to whom I am indebted. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all of them.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to know and learn from many colleagues, whose wisdom and brilliance have nurtured a critical and liberal academic culture within Durham Geography. Those intellectually stimulating conversations and interactions had a profound impact on my research and worldview, both during and even more after my PhD. I constantly found myself in awe of their intellectual critique and creativity. I am grateful to Hannah, Cynthia, Hung-Ying, Ludovico, James, Grace, Marcin, Ayushman, Tilly, Paul, Gordon, Lauren, and many others for their support and encouragement. It was an environment that constantly privileges the importance of acknowledging and appreciating someone's perspective on the world, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant it may be to others. Durham was brimming with a strong sense of intellectual liberation, respect and a constant worry about 'what might be foreclosed'. I enjoyed intellectual conversations undertaken in the purist possible way, imbued with passion and care, going beyond all kinds of numerical measurements and hierarchies.

I extend a special thank you to my PhD supervisors, Colin McFarlane and Andres Luque-Ayala, for their unwavering patience, wisdom and support throughout and beyond my doctoral studies. I am also very grateful to Louise Amoore, who graciously provided me with her mentorship for a short time during my postdoc. Looking back, I realise that there were many things, spoken and unspoken, that I did not fully comprehend as a PhD student. However, as I transitioned to a postdoctoral position in a different country and department at the University of Helsinki, things began to illuminate themselves in strange and unexpected moments.

I am grateful to have been granted a three-year independent postdoctoral position at the University of Helsinki, which provided me with the time and resources to delve deeper into the investigation of the OmaStadi platform and urban communities. During my time at the University of Helsinki, I had the pleasure of getting to know many wonderful colleagues, including David, Tuukka, Sonja, Laura, Santerri, Kirkissika, Mika, Jim, and Zhuo from Minna Ruckenstain's research group at the Centre for Consumer Society Research (CCSR). The biweekly seminars fostered interesting conversations and discussions on topics such as algorithmic decision-making and digital technologies. There was always a sense of frankness in our discussions, whether regarding manuscripts or specific technologies.

Outside of the research group, insightful and constructive suggestions were gleaned from the two panels at the EEAST conference (in Madrid) and at the conference on 'Digitalisation and Welfare' hosted by the IT University of Copenhagen, where I had the chance to speak to Nanna Thylstrup and other Danish STS scholars. I also had the pleasure of presenting the outline of my book project at the National Taiwan University (online) and at the University of Aalborg where I received interesting feedback from STS scholars like Sung-Yeuh Perng, Mei-Chun Lee, Anders Munk and Anders Madsen. Back to Helsinki, I thank Niilo, Petteri, Visa, Joe and Mikko for their support on administrative matters and for engaging in conversations. Beyond the CCSR, I extend my thanks to fellow postdocs in urban studies and sustainability studies, including Stephan, Basile, Niharika, Anna, Nilay, Seona, and Lasse, for their peer support and for having fun during lunches, drinks and other social activities. I am particularly grateful to Annina, who provided me with support in various administrative matters.

I am grateful to the individuals who provided tremendous support during my fieldwork in Taipei, Madrid, and Helsinki. Foremost, I express my deepest gratitude to Audrey Tang, the digital minister of the Taiwanese government. Audrey has consistently responded to my inquiries about vTaiwan over the years and has been incredibly generous with her time and insights for my research project. I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to work at Audrey's cabinet office, where I had the pleasure of getting to know and engaging in conversations with key stakeholders such as Shu-Yang, Yu-Tzan, Tzu-Yu, Mark, Fang and many others who were involved in and made significant contributions to the vTaiwan project. Additionally, I thank Christopher Small from Pol.is Inc. Christopher not only provided me with invaluable knowledge of machine learning algorithms but also recreated a highly unique database that allowed for the daily reconstruction of online participation in the Uber case. This database became a critical material for my analysis of algorithmic decision-making.

In Madrid, a heart-felt appreciation is, without doubt, given to Miguel for his invaluable assistance in interpreting during meetings and a few interviews with Spanish colleagues. His generosity with time and scheduling was a great help to my fieldwork. I also express my gratitude to Paula, Chema, Ana, Vicky, Rai, Yago, Pablo Aragon and Saya, who were involved in or conducted research on the Decide Madrid project. Their honest and intellectual insights, as well as their warm hospitality during our conversations, have been very helpful to my fieldwork. I am also grateful to Alberto Corsin for his inspirational conversations during my several visits to Madrid. Finally, I acknowledge the contributions of my research assistant, Tanja, who interpreted short conversations and interviews with activists and citizens (even in scorching hot weather) during the follow-up fieldwork.

In Helsinki, a lot of gratitude goes to my research team members: Christoph Becker and Ida Roikonen. Ida provided assistance in facilitating interviews and participatory observations by interpreting Finnish to English (and vice versa), while Chris contributed to the analysis of voting patterns and provided comments on the journal manuscript. I also appreciated Antti Hukkanen for providing a user database upon request. On top of this, I have enjoyed the insightful conversations about OmaStadi with Thomas Wallgren at the University of Helsinki, Pauli Saloranta, Kirsi Verkka and many others at the City of Helsinki. I have enjoyed doing participatory observation in several suburban communities alone or with my master's student, Ida. Finally, I also thank Vesa from Laajasalo and his son Thomas for their help with language interpretation during the walking tour, as well as Ina from Philajamaki for her help with interviewee recruitment.

The two editors at the Antipode book series - David and Kiran - have been instrumental in publishing this book. Their editorial comments on an earlier draft helped me feel companionship during the lengthy process. I felt encouragement and was prompted to think more critically and write more rigorously. In addition, I thank the dozens of reviewers from Urban Studies, Big Data & Society, AI & Society, and Cultural and Social Geography. Their feedback on the journal manuscripts, which I incorporated into empirical chapters 4, 5, and 6, indirectly contributed to this book.

This book could not have gotten off the ground without financial support from the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Espoo, Centre for Consumer Society Research at the University of Helsinki, and the Taiwanese government, which funded my postdoc position and PhD study. I was also supported by small grants for fieldwork and conferencing from Royal Geography Society (the Dudley Memorial Award), Geography Department and Hatfield College at Durham University, and the Urban and Regional Studies Institute and the Social Science Faculty at the University of Helsinki. While funding was essential, the freedom of my three-year position at the University of Helsinki allowed me to think and write slowly, steadily and critically. Finally, I also thank the University of Southampton for offering me a prestigious anniversary research fellowship. This fellowship ensured the financial security, continuity and intellectual recognition that allowed me to finish off the revisions. A conversation about post-structuralism and comparison methods with Nick Clarke has been helpful for me to rethink what has been produced or added to democratic theories through my choice of a comparative methodology.

In my personal life, a massive thank you goes to my partner, Jeff, who has supported my academic career, fieldwork and the writing up of this book in his own way. It is comforting to find food on the table when you come home from curious trips. I thank my late mother-in-law, Ann, who was always there for me throughout and whose spirit still lives through my actions and words. I thank Dave and Richard from the Maughan family for their support. Speaking of unconditional love and support, I thank my sister, mum and dad in Taipei.

If there is anything left unsaid here or in the book, it is meant to be understood by way of the Dao. While it is often left unsaid or not completely clear in large measure, I can clearly recall such moments when the Dao brought new directions and visions into the world throughout different stages of writing this book. With Dao in mind, I ventured into the random directions that snowflakes swerve, without completely losing myself. I was able to join and let go of the wind whispering in the trees, upon which I had once...