The Internal Logic of Intelligent Society, a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, and the New Form of Human Civilization

“The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life.” From the perspective of historical materialism, the mode of material production determines the overall appearance of social development. In the intelligent age, highly developed productive forces have been created by humanity, making it a real possibility for all people to live a decent life. The crux of the issue lies in the fact that artificial intelligence itself and the application of artificial intelligence are two different things. The application of artificial intelligence based on the logic of capital may bring existential risks to humanity.

I. The Development of Intelligent Society Urgently Requires the Construction of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and the Creation of a New Form of Human Civilization

If a society shaped by technologies such as the steam engine, which are “artificial physical capabilities,” is called an industrial society, then a society shaped by the large-scale application of emerging information technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things is an intelligent society. Artificial intelligence is a technological existence resulting from the iterative and convergent development of social digitalization, networking, and intelligentization. As a technology that extends and enhances human capabilities, artificial intelligence has, to date, demonstrated its significance in subversively transforming existing modes of social development. Within the pattern of “one planet, two systems” [1]1 “One planet, two systems” (一球两制) refers to the coexistence of the capitalist and socialist systems on a global scale., intelligent society broadly faces two prospects.

1. Artificial Intelligence Shapes Two Kinds of Communities: the “illusory community” and the “real community”

Marx said, “the workers learn to distinguish between machinery and its employment by capital, and to direct their attacks, not against the material instruments of production, but against the mode in which they are used.” [2]2 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Volume I, Chapter 15, Section 5. Similarly, a distinction must be made between artificial intelligence and the social form of its application. Artificial intelligence is the objectification of the human essence, a new structural force created by humanity. This new structural force can either become a means for the valorization of capital, thereby objectively becoming an alienated force opposed to humanity, or it can empower the free and comprehensive development of the individual, thus becoming a powerful “lever” for historical progress.

Viewed historically through the lens of technological revolution, technology and capitalism have always gone hand in hand. From the development of industrial capitalism to digital capitalism, the transformation of capitalist forms has always been accompanied by changes in the technological “base.” Undoubtedly, changes in the form of capitalism cannot alter the essence of the capitalist wage-labor system. Digital capitalism not only fails to eliminate the inherent fundamental contradictions of capitalism but instead reveals the following fact: with the deep development of intelligent society, all exploiting classes and exploiting systems “not only become superfluous but also become obstacles to development in the economic, political, and intellectual spheres.” [3]3 Friedrich Engels, *Socialism: Utopian and Scientific*.

Since the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, represented by technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, the self-proclaimed image of “freedom, democracy, and equality” in major developed countries like the United States has not only failed to be reinforced but has increasingly encountered systemic challenges such as the rampant spread of populism, democratic regression, and intensifying inequality. For the proletariat and the working people, intelligent capitalist society remains an “illusory community,” and its essence as a “community of capitalists” is increasingly exposed.

Why does digital capitalism create an “illusory community”? The fundamental reason is that artificial intelligence cannot and will not replace the worker’s “living labor” in creating surplus value. The capitalist application of artificial intelligence merely changes the form in which surplus value is created, without altering the essence of capitalism. The more fully artificial intelligence is applied under capitalism, the more fully the illusory nature of the “illusory community” is realized. The more intelligently capitalism develops, “the higher the productive power of labour, the greater is the number of non-workers compared with workers, and the greater is the number of workers who do not produce the means of necessary subsistence, or do not engage in material production at all.” [4]4 Karl Marx, *Theories of Surplus Value*, Volume I, Addenda. In other words, the more digital capitalism develops, the greater the number of “superfluous people” in Yuval Noah Harari’s terms. As a technology for reconstructing the mode of material production in modern society, the capitalist application of artificial intelligence spreads globally, making social division, confrontation, chaos, and turmoil inevitable.

If we examine technological revolution within the historical transformation of the socialist form, we can also find that socialism has various different developmental facets. The socialist application of artificial intelligence is, in fact, empowering the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind and promoting the creation of a new form of human civilization.

Modern socialism develops in constant struggle with modern capitalism. From the perspective of historical materialism, “all political struggles are class struggles, and all struggles for emancipation, although they necessarily assume a political form (for all class struggles are political struggles), are in the last resort struggles for economic emancipation.” [5]5 Friedrich Engels, *Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy*. If modern capitalist society is essentially a society centered on the valorization of capital, then modern socialist society is a society centered on human emancipation. “Only within the community has each individual the means of cultivating his gifts in all directions; hence personal freedom becomes possible only within the community.” [6]6 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The German Ideology*. The community Marx discusses refers to the “real community” of humanity formed after the withering away of the state, when highly developed productive forces are commonly owned by the whole of society and all means of production become socially common property. Today, with the continuous iterative development and widespread application of artificial intelligence technology, humanity’s general labor is increasingly replaced by artificial intelligence, and humanity increasingly possesses ample conditions for engaging in science, art, enjoyment, learning, communication, and all other activities beneficial to the free and comprehensive development of the individual. This heralds the possible birth of a new form of civilization in which humanity may achieve complete economic and political emancipation. Under the socialist system, with the deep development of intelligent society, a community with a shared future for mankind is continuously endowed with new connotations, thus drawing closer to the “real community.”

2. Artificial Intelligence Shapes Two Forms of Civilization: “Civilization of Capital” and “Civilization of Labor”

From the perspective of the Marxist theory of civilization, “open, and since more recent times disguised, slavery accompanies civilization.” [7]7 Friedrich Engels, *The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State*. This civilization refers to civilization based on private ownership. Modern capitalist civilization is a civilization formed by capital ruling over labor. Fundamentally, to date, the “civilization of capital” remains based on the insufficient development of social productive forces, resulting in society being split into two opposing classes. In contrast to the “civilization of capital,” the “civilization of labor” (the civilization created by socialist society where the people are the masters) is a civilization formed by labor mastering capital. Capital, as a factor of production, is merely “dead labor,” while the creation of civilization is forever inseparable from the “living labor” of human beings. Therefore, from the perspective of the logic of civilization’s genesis, the “civilization of capital” and the “civilization of labor” are, in the final analysis, both forms of labor’s “rule” over humanity.

With the deep development of intelligent society, humanity may be liberated from labor. This “labor” is essentially still the “alienated labor” that Marx sought to abolish, not labor as “life’s prime want.” [8]8 Karl Marx, *Critique of the Gotha Programme*. The continuous iterative development of artificial intelligence is expected to break the general rule of labor over humanity, thereby creating conditions for labor to become humanity’s prime want and, further, for the realization of the free and comprehensive development of the individual.

From the essential requirements of intelligent society, only a society that truly takes the free and comprehensive development of the individual as its fundamental development goal can be called an intelligent society. Conversely, any society that runs counter to the free and comprehensive development of the individual cannot be called an intelligent society. Therefore, digital capitalism can never build an intelligent society. Only a socialist society that transcends the capitalist application of artificial intelligence can establish a true intelligent society. In essence, building an intelligent society urgently requires humanity to form a new institutional framework and value standards, ultimately breaking free from the paradoxical development pattern of civilization where intelligent society is not sufficiently intelligent.

Analyzed from the economic basis of class formation, “the division of society into exploiting and exploited classes, into ruling and oppressed classes, was a necessary consequence of the previous low level of production… as long as the labor of society’s majority still takes up all or nearly all of its time, this society is necessarily divided into classes.” In a sufficiently intelligent society, the application of artificial intelligence can increasingly create sufficient conditions for humanity to gain more free time. When this condition develops to the point where everyone possesses enough free time, it means that the moment for humanity to form a true community with a shared future has arrived. The development of artificial intelligence has already created real conditions for society to eliminate the situation where humanity enslaves itself. As these conditions develop increasingly fully, the transcendence of the civilization of capital and the emergence of a truly human form of civilization become a historical necessity. As a new type of means of production capable of replacing human labor, the “creative power” inherent in artificial intelligence depends on the magnitude of human creativity. In an intelligent society, artificial intelligence universally assists in the production of material means of subsistence. This means that the productive forces have reached a level sufficient to eliminate the class antagonisms and class rule caused by insufficient productive forces. As Engels pointed out, “only now has any ruling and exploiting class become superfluous.” In the era of the flourishing industrial civilization where machinery replaced workers’ labor, Engels already asserted the superfluity of all ruling and exploiting classes, including the bourgeoisie.

As humanity moves toward the intelligent era, all systems and classes that exploit and oppress people increasingly become superfluous. In the intelligent era, it is not Marxism or scientific socialism that has become “outdated,” but rather capitalism and its system of wage labor. “The expansive force of the means of production bursts the bonds that the capitalist mode of production had imposed upon them.” Therefore, just like the slave-based and feudal modes of production before them, with the deep development of intelligent society, the capitalist mode of production, and thus the capitalist state apparatus, should be placed in the “museum of antiquities.” What replaces them is the continuous enrichment and development of the material and technological foundations of socialism, thereby promoting the “civilization of labor,” which truly belongs to humanity, as a universal form of human civilization. It is certain that with the deep development of intelligent society, the “civilization of capital” created by the capitalist system will inevitably decline, while the “civilization of labor” created by the socialist system will flourish.

3. The deep development of intelligent society requires building a community with a shared future for mankind and creating a new form of human civilization

From the perspective of historical materialism, “labor is the fundamental force driving the progress of human society.” Without labor, there would be no human civilization. Labor is the mode of human existence and development, and it is also the necessary path for humanity’s free and comprehensive development. On the one hand, Marx emphasized, “any people, if it stops laboring, not to mention a year, would perish in just a few weeks.” On the other hand, Marx and Engels also stressed, “the communist revolution is directed against the hitherto existing character of activity; it abolishes labor.” What humanity must abolish is not all labor, but all “alienated labor” that is imposed on people and constrains their freedom and liberation.

With the advent of the intelligent era, abolishing alienated labor and realizing free labor is not only a requirement of the transformation of labor forms themselves but also an inherent demand of the logic of technological development. As Lewis Mumford warned in *Technicus and Civilization*: “Without coordinated development toward a higher social goal, the development of the machine system in the neotechnic phase can only increase the possibilities of impoverishment and barbarization.” The deep development of intelligent society increasingly requires society to treat “labor” as an activity that has shed its character as a means of livelihood, thereby becoming an activity that enriches individual personality and freedom and promotes the realization of human value—that is, as an activity that restores human essence. Clearly, these conditions can only be created within a community with a shared future for mankind. The “sham community” of digital capitalism cannot create these conditions.

Since artificial intelligence is artificial, AI applications driven by algorithms inevitably carry the intentions and value orientations of those who design and apply them. People’s fear of artificial intelligence ultimately stems from the fear of malicious applications of AI by humans or its excessive application based on the logic of capital. In fact, as long as AI “labor” cannot be equivalently exchanged for human labor, humanity’s status as the subject of labor in society will not be lost. AI surpassing certain human capabilities “is like a bulldozer winning a gold medal in weightlifting at the Olympics—it has no special significance.” The domination of humanity by the logic of capital triggered by digital capitalism cannot obscure the positive significance of AI itself for human freedom and liberation. Under a socialist system, building an intelligent society can fully empower and enable the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind and the creation of a new form of human civilization.

Labor contains the clues to solving the problem of humanity’s free and comprehensive development. Only when labor fully becomes a creative activity and a developmental activity for humans can it become an activity belonging to human essence. For human freedom, liberation, and comprehensive development, non-logical, non-functional creative labor is of decisive significance. Artificial intelligence can not only replace general human physical labor but also replace general human mental labor. Under socialist conditions, the liberation of humans from general forms of labor is increasingly becoming a reality. However, “the development of AI technology, like other technological advances, is also a ‘double-edged sword.’” For intelligent society to develop healthily, safely, and intelligently, it inevitably requires that intelligence benefits the whole society and respects the free and comprehensive development of every individual. Taking a community with a shared future for mankind as the core concept and creating a new form of human civilization as the fundamental goal are inherent requirements for the development of intelligent society.

According to Marx’s theory of the dialectical unity of production and consumption, against the backdrop of the deep development of intelligent society, if the vast wealth formed by intelligent production, represented by commodities, cannot be enjoyed by laborers, then production becomes disconnected from consumption. “Without production, there is no consumption; but without consumption, there is also no production, because without consumption, production has no purpose.” Therefore, as long as artificial intelligence cannot “consume” like humans, the more fully AI “replaces” human labor, the more society will inevitably fall into a state where production and consumption are disconnected, leading to continuous crises. The necessary path to escape chaos and crisis is for society to form a true community, thereby achieving intelligent matching of production and consumption and realizing the reshaping and reconstruction of the form of civilization. In other words, for intelligent society to move toward a bright future, it urgently needs to construct labor systems and political systems that are compatible with it and truly belong to “human civilization.” If artificial intelligence can replace the labor that sustains all human survival, and society establishes a compatible system of ownership and labor, it means that the true era of human civilization has begun. The “singularity” of the era of human civilization is about to arrive.

II. The Compatibility of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, a New Form of Human Civilization, and Intelligent Society

“The bourgeoisie not only forges the weapons that bring death to itself; it also produces the men who will wield these weapons—the modern workers, the proletarians.” Digital capitalism not only forges intelligent weapons to destroy the capitalist system but will also forge the people who wield these weapons. Therefore, fundamentally, the development of intelligent society under the socialist system will inevitably create a situation favorable to the development of world socialism and the liberation of the working people. The deep development of intelligent society provides strong support for consolidating a community with a shared future for mankind and creating a new form of human civilization, thereby creating possibilities and conditions for realizing communism.

1. Digital capitalism cannot form an intelligent society, nor can it create a new form of human civilization

Intelligent society is a society of mutual benefit, cooperation, co-construction, and sharing. As long as exploitation exists in society, it cannot be said to have entered an intelligent society. Ultimately, artificial intelligence and the logic of capital are contradictory and incompatible; artificial intelligence and the logic of labor are interconnected and aligned.

In 1903, when expounding a new and better social system, Lenin emphasized, “In this new and better society there should be neither rich nor poor; all should work. The fruits of common labor should not be enjoyed by a handful of rich people, but by all working people. Machines and other technical improvements should be used to lighten everyone’s labor, not to enrich a few while impoverishing millions. This new and better society is called socialist society.” [12]12 V. I. Lenin, “To the Rural Poor: An Explanation for the Peasants of What the Social-Democrats Want” (1903). An intelligent society is a good society in which intelligent technology empowers human development; it is essentially consistent with socialist society, otherwise it cannot be called an intelligent society.

A digital capitalist society obviously cannot become the good society Lenin envisioned. “Capitalist civilization is built on the foundation of capitalist exploitation; it cannot overcome or eliminate the barbaric nature inherent in civilization… Although the capitalist system and the Western modernization model are constantly evolving, their inherent nature of capital supremacy, the law of the jungle, polarization, and hegemonic power has not changed at all, and their drawbacks are becoming increasingly evident.” Within the framework of capital logic, the logic of intelligent technology alone cannot solve the problems of labor alienation, scientific and technological alienation, and the paradoxical development of civilization. Global climate, ecological environment, and resources are the most public-goods-oriented resources for the continuous development of human civilization. “There is only one Earth in the universe, and mankind shares one home… So far, Earth is the only home on which mankind can rely; cherishing and protecting Earth is mankind’s only choice.” Yet digital capitalism can only accelerate the formation of an ecological and environmental “tragedy of the commons.”

In the intelligent age, the myths and halos of capitalism have faded and dimmed. “Capital is not a personal power, but a social power.” “The movement of capital has no limits.” In the intelligent age, the modernity crisis encountered by mankind is still the result of the spread of capital logic. As the capital logic of artificial intelligence applications unfolds globally, capitalist civilization will inevitably encounter a systemic crisis. In other words, no matter how concealed the exploitation of wage workers by intelligent capitalism becomes, the workers’ mode of existence remains slavish. If society does not possess all the productive forces, society will inevitably split into classes. In the human society of the intelligent age, for a considerable historical period, class struggle and class rule will still be unavoidable. Under specific circumstances, the class struggle and contradictions mankind faces may even become more intense. No matter how artificial intelligence technology develops, as long as society does not form a genuine community, a genuine intelligent society cannot be formed.

“One of the civilizing aspects of capital is that it extracts this surplus labor in ways and conditions that, compared with earlier forms such as slavery and serfdom, are more conducive to the development of productive forces, to the development of social relations, and to the creation of elements for a higher new form.” As a new factor of production created by convergent technology, contemporary capitalism enables capital to “devour” human living labor through “unmanned factories.” Contemporary capitalism has developed the modern “civilization of capital” to an unparalleled degree. However, the fact that the capitalist mode of production has become more “civilized” cannot obscure the contradiction between the private ownership of the means of production and socialized production. As long as artificial intelligence is “artificial,” it means that the paradox of contemporary capitalist civilization inevitably exists.

2. The Mutual Construction of Intelligent Society, a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, and a New Form of Human Civilization

Judging from the history of human civilization, although there is no hierarchy of high and low among civilizations, there is a distinction between old and new. The “new form of human civilization” created by China is essentially a new socialist civilization form that transcends capitalist civilization. Building an intelligent society is an important aspect of enriching and expanding the new form of human civilization through Chinese-path modernization. The more fully China’s intelligent society develops, the more solid the foundation for promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind becomes. China actively promotes global innovation governance of artificial intelligence, both rooted in China and embracing the world; it both earnestly practices the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and contributes wisdom and strength to creating a new form of human civilization. The mutual construction relationship among intelligent society, a community with a shared future for mankind, and a new form of human civilization is determined by the essence of the three.

“Driven by new theories and technologies such as mobile internet, big data, supercomputing, sensor networks, and brain science, artificial intelligence is exhibiting new features such as deep learning, cross-border integration, human-machine collaboration, open swarm intelligence, and autonomous control, and is having a significant and profound impact on economic development, social progress, and global governance.” That mankind has created artificial intelligence means that mankind’s creative application of consciousness has reached a new height, and also that mankind has the ability to convert conscious activity into electronic signals (code systems) for transmission and mathematical-logical calculation processes. The code systems constructed by mankind create conditions for the development of human collaborative ability. Fundamentally, an intelligent society is a society in which human collaborative ability has developed to a new height. This collaboration of mankind includes both vertical collaboration between generations and horizontal collaboration among different nationalities and different countries. From the grand historical perspective of the evolution of human civilization, it is precisely this intelligent collaborative ability embedded in human genes that has created human civilization on Earth.

In the intelligent age, to solve various risk challenges related to the fate of all mankind, including the governance of artificial intelligence, China’s solution is to build a community with a shared future for mankind and achieve win-win sharing. Generally speaking, only in a community with a shared future for mankind based on equal cooperation and mutual benefit can the civilized application of artificial intelligence be realized. Only in a socialist society can the application of artificial intelligence truly achieve win-win sharing. Without socialism, there cannot be a genuine intelligent society.

The application of artificial intelligence in socialist China can transcend the limitations and fetters of capital and maximize the interests of the people. “Developing artificial intelligence will provide important support for China to build a modern economic system and achieve high-quality development, and provide important guarantees for improving people’s livelihoods.” The application of artificial intelligence in contemporary China fully demonstrates the revolutionary significance brought by the mutual reinforcement and mutual construction of intelligent society, a community with a shared future for mankind, and a new form of human civilization. “Planned, cooperative labor of this kind is called cooperation… Cooperation raises individual productivity and creates a productivity that is itself a collective force.” The underlying logic of contemporary China building an intelligent society and continuously achieving high-quality economic and social development is that the Communist Party of China leads the Chinese people to uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and fully tap the cooperative force and collective force contained in the socialist application of science and technology to benefit the whole society. This process itself is creating new productive forces and creating a new form of human civilization.

Chinese-path modernization can transcend the blindness of capitalist production. Under socialist conditions, “the associated producers will rationally regulate their material exchange with nature, placing it under their common control,” thereby freeing themselves from the domination of natural forces and capital. The synchronous resonance of contemporary China’s scientific and technological revolution and the socialist system has created huge positive effects, thereby greatly demonstrating the superiority and advanced nature of the socialist system. “The more science is ruthless and impartial, the more it conforms to the interests and wishes of the workers.” It can be predicted that the mutual reinforcement of the intelligent revolution and Chinese-path modernization construction will greatly enhance the fundamental interests of socialism, thereby consolidating the foundation of a community with a shared future for mankind and promoting the creation of a new form of human civilization.

The mutual construction, mutual promotion, and mutual integration of intelligent society, a community with a shared future for mankind, and a new form of human civilization will endow socialist civilization with richer connotations in the construction of material civilization, political civilization, cultural-ethical progress, social civilization, and ecological civilization. The proletariat “can only liberate itself by completely abolishing all class rule, all servitude, and all exploitation.” This is not only an inherent requirement of the dialectical and unified development of politics and economy, but also an inherent requirement of the logic of scientific and technological development. Only in a community with a shared future for mankind can artificial intelligence become the “historical lever” that leverages the leap of human civilization.

3. Intelligent Society, a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, and the New Form of Human Civilization Empower Each Other

The application of artificial intelligence is, in essence, still humanity’s use of natural forces, including human intelligence itself. To apply artificial intelligence, humanity must first clarify the operational mechanisms of these natural forces. This requires sharing, to the greatest extent possible, data resources that map the real world. Under conditions of digitalization, networking, and intelligentization, researchers can acquire new knowledge for transforming the world through data-based analysis of the material world. “New-generation artificial intelligence is driven by the ‘dual wheels’ of data and knowledge; the more data there is, the more intelligent it becomes.” [13]13 See Pan Yunhe, “Artificial Intelligence 2.0 and the Development of the Digital Economy,” *Journal of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (Social Sciences Edition)*, 2022, no. 1. On the basis of ultra-rapid growth in data resources, a social institutional system for sharing data resources is also necessary. Therefore, if data resources—one of the most important factors of production in the intelligent age—cannot be shared or are insufficiently shared, this will create non-technical obstacles to the application of artificial intelligence. In application scenarios for artificial intelligence, the degree of sharing of compliant data resources determines the degree of “intelligence” of the artificial intelligence.

3. Intelligent Society, a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, and the New Form of Human Civilization Mutually Empower Each Other

Artificial intelligence relies on algorithm-driven operation, which means that the values embedded in the algorithms directly determine who enjoys the wealth “produced” by artificial intelligence. In a capitalist society, artificial intelligence algorithms ultimately embody the logic and intentions of capital, and the application of artificial intelligence serves only a minority; in a socialist society, artificial intelligence algorithms are integrated into the overall will of the people, embodying the intention to safeguard the overall and long-term interests of humanity (a community consciousness), and thus the application of artificial intelligence necessarily serves the development of the entire society and the free and comprehensive development of each individual.

In summary, with the deep development of an intelligent society, all political superstructures and ideologies aimed at safeguarding the interests of a minority become not only meaningless but also incompatible with the advanced productive forces created by the application of artificial intelligence. The large-scale application of artificial intelligence will sooner or later trigger subversive changes in the production and reproduction of the entire society. The development of artificial intelligence requires a revolutionary reconstruction of the form of human civilization, transcending the limitations of national, regional, and interest-group patterns, thereby achieving the true liberation of humanity. In an intelligent society, artificial intelligence will empower humanity to co-create, co-govern, and share in a prosperous material life and a noble spiritual life. In a certain sense, an intelligent society is the material foundation and technological base for a community with a shared future for mankind and a new form of human civilization; a community with a shared future for mankind is the principled stance and universal consensus that should be followed in building an intelligent society and creating a new form of human civilization; and a new form of human civilization is the value pursuit and goal orientation of an intelligent society and a community with a shared future for mankind.

III. The Unity of Intelligent Society, a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, and the New Form of Human Civilization

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Although the era we live in has undergone tremendous and profound changes compared with the era in which Marx lived, from the broad perspective of 500 years of world socialism, we are still in the historical era indicated by Marxism.” [14]14 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of Marx’s Birth,” *People’s Daily*, May 5, 2018. The historical era indicated by Marxism is the era of the transition from capitalism to socialism, and it is also an era in which the form of human civilization faces subversive transformation.

1. Meeting the Challenges of the Intelligent Age Requires Continuously Consolidating the Material and Ideological Foundations of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind

The deep development of the intelligent age objectively requires human society to accept the basic principles of scientific socialism as quickly and as broadly as possible. However, we must recognize that the intelligent revolution does not necessarily simultaneously trigger a worldwide socialist political revolution. In the intelligent age, the capitalist wage-labor system and the capitalist class that lives off this system will not voluntarily withdraw from the historical stage; the struggle between capital and labor will persist for a long time, and the two systems of capitalism and socialism will also coexist for a long period. The problem is: in this historical era of transition from capitalism to socialism, how should humanity respond to the existential risks that the capitalist application of artificial intelligence may induce? “Artificial intelligence is initially an epistemological issue, but in the near future it will escalate into an ontological issue concerning ultimate destiny, an issue that may even endanger human existence itself.” [15]15 Zhao Tingyang, “The Philosophical Issues of Artificial Intelligence,” *Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Social Sciences Edition)*, 2023, no. 1.

For a considerable period, the pattern of struggle between the logic of capital and the logic of labor will persist. While promoting the development of human productive forces, capitalism will inevitably exacerbate the global climate change crisis and the risk of ecological environmental degradation. The spread of the logic of capital will inevitably cause society to divide into the propertied and the propertyless, the oppressor and the oppressed, the exploiter and the exploited. In short, as long as the relationship of capital’s domination over labor still exists, the logic of capital will continue to dominate the mode of existence and development of human society.

Within the logic of capital, “every new productive lever is inevitably transformed into a new means of enslaving the producer by the means of production.” [16]16 Karl Marx, *Capital*, vol. 1, in *Marx and Engels Collected Works*, vol. 23 (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 1972), p. 708. Digital capitalism has not changed the essence of its wage-labor system. On the one hand, it creates social wealth represented by a vast array of commodities; on the other hand, the vast majority of this wealth is distributed only within the capitalist class, and the large number of so-called “superfluous people” [17]17 “Superfluous people” refers to those rendered redundant by technological unemployment under capitalism, a concept discussed by Marx in *Capital*. produced by the application of artificial intelligence cannot enter the social organism. In other words, within the logic of capital, the more fully artificial intelligence is applied, the more severe social polarization and human alienation become, and the more hollow and unrealizable a community with a shared future for mankind becomes. Artificial intelligence, when combined with the logic of capital, greatly enhances capital’s power to dominate society. Their collusion both objectively deepens the tendency toward a community with a shared future for mankind and, in practice, continuously “short-sells” this community, turning human society into an “illusory community.” [18]18 “Illusory community” is a term from Marx and Engels’ *The German Ideology*, referring to a community that falsely presents itself as representing universal interests while actually serving the interests of a ruling class. [19 Therefore, throughout the entire historical period of the transition from capitalism to socialism, continuously consolidating the material and ideological foundations of a community with a shared future for mankind becomes a major epochal issue concerning whether human civilization can achieve sustained development.

With the development of economic globalization, humanity is “increasingly becoming a community with a shared future where you have me and I have you.” [19]19 “The greatest common divisor” (最大公约数) is a mathematical term used metaphorically in Chinese political discourse to refer to the broadest possible consensus or common ground that diverse parties can agree upon. A community with a shared future for mankind is both a reality and an ideal. “The era of artificial intelligence signifies the highest stage of machine-based large-scale industry, heralding the end of capitalism and the arrival of communism.” [20]20 “苦于资本主义生产的发展” and “苦于资本主义生产的不发展”: Quotations from Marx’s preface to the first German edition of *Capital*, Volume 1, where he notes that Germany, unlike England, suffered not from the development of capitalist production but from its underdevelopment. The actual situation facing humanity in the intelligent age is this: at the level of productive forces, society has already moved toward an intelligent society; at the level of relations of production, society is still in an era of struggle between the logic of capital and the logic of labor. In contemporary times, China’s advocacy of building a community with a shared future for mankind is a strategic choice that meets the requirements of the times and conforms to the laws of historical development.

Building a community with a shared future for mankind is an insurmountable historical stage on the path toward Marx’s “true community.” [21]21 “世界好，中国才能好；中国好，世界才更好”: A slogan frequently used by Chinese leaders, notably Xi Jinping Throughout the entire historical process of building a community with a shared future for mankind, only by fully applying the intelligence of human collaboration, jointly creating a green productive forces system and a shared mode of social development, and jointly carrying out material production, political production, and spiritual production in accordance with aesthetic requirements and moral principles, can humanity have a bright future in the intelligent age.

2. Building an Intelligent Society Requires Transcending the Logic of Capital and Creating a New Form of Human Civilization

The reason why the sustained development of human civilization encounters risks and challenges is, in the final analysis, due to the logic of capital. The capitalist application of artificial intelligence further increases the likelihood of such risks and challenges. Therefore, before humanity can fully achieve domination and control over capital, it is necessary to create a form of civilization distinct from that driven by the logic of capital, and to create a new form of human civilization in which the logic of labor holds sway.

Through arduous exploration, the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to blaze the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, carry out Chinese-path modernization, and create a new form of human civilization. The new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization has realized the restructuring of the relationship between labor and capital; its essence is a form of civilization in which the logic of labor occupies the dominant position. In this new form of civilization, all forms of capital, including intelligent capital, revolve around human labor, not the other way around. The new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization has advanced human freedom and all-round development to a new historical height.

This new form of human civilization is “new” in that it transcends the logic of capital and constructs a relationship in which labor drives and dominates capital, thereby creating conditions for building a community with a shared future for mankind. Artificial intelligence empowering the creation of a new form of human civilization will create more ample material and spiritual conditions for building a community with a shared future for mankind. As these conditions become increasingly abundant and develop, the connotation of the new form of human civilization will be continuously enriched and expanded. In this sense, the process of building a community with a shared future for mankind is precisely the process of constantly enriching and expanding the new form of human civilization.

Examined from the perspective of the game between capital and labor, the key to a community with a shared future for mankind lies in “building.” Against the backdrop of the deep development of intelligent society, establishing a scientific, systematic, and comprehensive capital governance system is an extremely important aspect. It is necessary to ensure the regulated and healthy development of various forms of capital, including intelligent capital. A certain tension must be maintained between safeguarding the reasonable appreciation of capital and safeguarding the inclusive development of society. It is necessary to ensure that intelligent technology benefits society to the maximum extent, promote the innovative development of intelligent capital, and also prevent the disorderly expansion of intelligent capital and its erosion of social fairness and justice. As General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “We must place greater emphasis on enhancing inclusiveness, properly handle the relationships between fairness and efficiency, between capital and labor, and between technology and employment, pay attention to the impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence on employment, and enable more people to share in the fruits of development.” [19]19 “The greatest common divisor” (最大公约数) is a mathematical term used metaphorically in Chinese political discourse to refer to the broadest possible consensus or common ground that diverse parties can agree upon. This requires striving to organically unify the development of intelligent society, the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and the creation of a new form of human civilization.

As an original and iconic concept of contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences, a community with a shared future for mankind represents the current situation of humanity. On the one hand, the development of artificial intelligence and its impact on the evolution of human civilization mean that a solid technical foundation has already been laid for the liberation of labor from the rule of capital. The form of civilization shaped by the logic of labor has already been confirmed in the historical process of contemporary Chinese socialist practice. “The scientific nature and truth of Marxism have been fully tested in China, the people’s character and practicality of Marxism have been fully implemented in China, and the openness and contemporaneity of Marxism have been fully demonstrated in China.” [20]20 “苦于资本主义生产的发展” and “苦于资本主义生产的不发展”: Quotations from Marx’s preface to the first German edition of *Capital*, Volume 1, where he notes that Germany, unlike England, suffered not from the development of capitalist production but from its underdevelopment.

Whether artificial intelligence can truly benefit humanity and help realize a revolutionary reshaping of the form of human civilization depends crucially on whether its application and governance can be oriented toward a community with a shared future for mankind, and whether it can truly realize “co-creating the intelligent era and sharing intelligent achievements.” Ultimately, humanity must place the “new productive forces” it has created under the rational control of the human collective, thereby transcending the capital logic of AI application, promoting the construction of an intelligent society, and promoting the creation of a new form of human civilization.

On the other hand, regarding the application and governance of artificial intelligence, which concerns the survival and flourishing of human civilization, the interests of any interest group, any powerful organization, or any privileged stratum are utterly meaningless. Fundamentally, capitalism runs completely counter to the development interests of building a community with a shared future for mankind. Only by consistently practicing the common values of all humanity—peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom—can artificial intelligence become a positive factor for human freedom and all-round development. In this sense, building a high-quality intelligent society constitutes a new connotation and new requirement for socialist modernization in the intelligent era.

The deep development of intelligent society and highly developed productive forces will promote the formation of a community of human intelligence and artificial intelligence (a human-machine community), thereby creating conditions for shaping all-round developed individuals and a good social system. These conditions are themselves basic elements of the new form of human civilization. When these conditions are sufficiently intelligent to form an integrated whole, the connotation of the new form of human civilization will be continuously enriched and developed.

In building an intelligent society, artificial intelligence and a community with a shared future for mankind empower each other; artificial intelligence will contribute to the high-quality development of human civilization. Artificial intelligence confirms that humanity’s ability to apply natural forces has reached a new historical height. The application and governance of artificial intelligence oriented toward a community with a shared future for mankind embody the unity of the scientific and humanistic aspects of technology. In the historical process of humanity’s transition from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom, artificial intelligence has already demonstrated a powerful “historical lever” role. The application of artificial intelligence in socialist China has already confirmed this role.

3. Contemporary Chinese Practice Confirms the Unity of Intelligent Society, a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, and the New Form of Human Civilization

It is no accident that building a community with a shared future for mankind was proposed by China. It is an inevitable outcome of the CPC leading the Chinese people in the New Era to firmly establish and uphold the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological domain, consciously carry forward the historical initiative spirit, and consciously create a new form of human civilization. Nor is it accidental that artificial intelligence has developed rapidly and been applied on a large scale in China, empowering high-quality economic and social development. It is an inevitable result of the logic of AI technology intersecting with the historical and practical logic of China’s social development.

China has taken the initiative to propose and actively implement the Global Data Security Initiative, the Global AI Governance Initiative, and the AI Global Governance Action Plan. It consistently adheres to the position that artificial intelligence is an international public good for the benefit of humanity, and consistently strengthens the integration of AI with safeguarding and improving people’s livelihoods, thereby creating conditions for building a truly intelligent society. China actively promotes the safe, equitable, and inclusive development of global AI. This is a concrete action to actively implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative. It is an inherent requirement of practicing the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and creating a new form of human civilization. It is a vivid portrayal of proactively responding to the challenges of the wave of the intelligent revolution and carrying forward the historical initiative spirit.

The cases published in “China’s Wisdom Benefits the World (2025)” released at the 2025 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance show that Chinese AI products and technologies have already empowered development in many countries and regions around the world. AI + language communication + cultural heritage + medical image analysis + mine safety governance + power grid safety diagnosis + technological development + educational reform + increasing farmers’ income + community governance + cultural tourism and leisure, etc., demonstrate that Chinese AI is integrating into the creation of human civilization in a safe, inclusive, and accessible manner. The collaborative cooperation between artificial intelligence and human intelligence promotes the exchange, mutual learning, and high-quality development of diverse human civilizations. Socialist China presents a rich picture of a better life for humanity

“Promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind does not mean replacing one system with another, nor replacing one civilization with another. Rather, it means that countries with different social systems, different ideologies, different histories and cultures, and different levels of development share interests, share rights, and share responsibilities in international affairs, forming the greatest common divisor for building a better world.” Building a community with a shared future for mankind requires discarding arrogance and prejudice, respecting the diversity of civilizations, maximizing respect for the common interests of all humanity, and creating a new pattern of civilization development featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution, joint governance, and shared benefits.

Contemporary China is able to collectively utilize the advanced productive forces created by humanity, thereby continuously consolidating the material and social foundations of a community with a shared future for mankind. The Chinese Communists recognize that the development of human civilization is a unity of progress and twists and turns. Throughout the entire historical process of building a community with a shared future for mankind, there exist both positive factors that continuously consolidate this community and negative factors that continuously weaken it. The key lies in giving full play to the people’s great historical initiative and great creative spirit.

Only within a community with a shared future for mankind can a rational relationship be formed between the development of artificial intelligence and social development. In a given historical period, in some developing countries, especially those still in the pre-industrial era, the development of artificial intelligence does not “suffer from the development of capitalist production” but rather “suffers from the underdevelopment of capitalist production.” Therefore, it is not possible to simply demand that all countries in the world simultaneously realize the socialist application of artificial intelligence. On the premise of adhering to the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, each country and region should be respected for its own choice of artificial intelligence application and governance policies suited to its level of development. Only by consistently upholding the common values of all humanity—peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom—can humanity achieve peaceful coexistence and common development within a diverse and pluralistic civilizational ecology. Intelligent society and the new form of human civilization converge, integrate, and mutually reinforce each other, inherently containing immense potential and broad space for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

By consistently adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and persistently upholding a people-centered development philosophy, China will inevitably expand and enrich the new form of human civilization in the intelligent era. Humanity is an interdependent community with a shared future; “only when the world is good can China be good; only when China is good can the world be even better.” With the deep development of intelligent society, socialist China will contribute more wisdom and strength to humanity’s peaceful development and civilizational progress.

Conclusion

The application and governance of artificial intelligence concern the destiny of all humanity and are a common issue facing all countries in the world today. With the deep development of the intelligent era, the spread of the logic of capital must be changed, and the situation where capital rules over labor must be changed. Transcending the logic of capital, creating a new form of human civilization, and achieving the unity of the logic and practice of labor justice and historical justice are inherent requirements of historical development. Building a community with a shared future for mankind is both an inevitability of historical development and a new civilizational element already forged by the times themselves.

We consistently uphold Marxism, adhere to the primacy of the people, and persist in innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and shared development. The superiority of socialism will inevitably become more evident in the intelligent era. The deeper the development of intelligent society, the more it demands that the entire society adhere to people-centered development, and the more it requires humanity to continue developing in the manner of a community. Intelligent society manifests the theoretical essence and practical requirements of the new form of human civilization.

Building a community with a shared future for mankind is a wise plan contributed by socialist China in the intelligent era for the continued development of human civilization. With the large-scale application of artificial intelligence and the continuous improvement and development of governance oriented toward a community with a shared future for mankind, it is possible and realistic for the logic of labor to transcend the logic of capital. In the New Era, China has proposed and implemented “artificial intelligence +” global cooperation, promoted the inclusive and shared benefits of artificial intelligence, and jointly built a global governance system for artificial intelligence, reflecting its mission-driven responsibility and historical consciousness in responding to the challenges of the wave of the intelligent revolution. Contemporary China’s sustained high-quality development has already confirmed and will continue to confirm that building an intelligent society, constructing a community with a shared future for mankind, and creating a new form of human civilization complement and integrate with each other.

Author’s Brief Introduction: Wang Shuixing, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Marxism, Ningbo University, and Researcher at the Ningbo University Base of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era Research Center of Zhejiang Province.