The First 2025 Young Scholars Symposium of the Academy of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Successfully Held
On April 17, 2025, the first Youth Thematic Seminar of 2025 of the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) was held in Conference Room 1237 of the Scientific Research Building. The forum, themed “Artificial Intelligence and Socialist Research,” aimed to strengthen theoretical study and exchange among the youth and bolster the development of the young talent pool. Luo Wendong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies, attended the meeting and delivered an address. More than 20 experts and young scholars from Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, the China Electronic Standardization Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the CASS Institute of Philosophy, and the CASS Institute of Economics participated in the seminar. The seminar was chaired successively by Yang Jing, Deputy Director of the Department of Principles of Marxism at the Institute of Marxism Studies and Head of the Youth Work Group, and Liu Ying, Associate Research Fellow and Deputy Head of the Youth Work Group.
In his address, Luo Wendong pointed out that holding youth thematic seminars is an important measure for strengthening the development of the young talent pool. These seminars must develop distinctive characteristics, improve in quality, and continuously promote the growth and professional success of young scholars. First, it is necessary to comprehensively study and grasp the basic principles of Marxism concerning science and technology, and integrate them with China’s specific realities and China’s fine traditional culture [1] to advance the development of 21st-century Marxism. Particular emphasis must be placed on the study, research, and application of Marxist classics such as The Poverty of Philosophy, Dialectics of Nature, and Materialism and Empirio-criticism. Second, cross-disciplinary and comprehensive research on major social frontier issues must be strengthened to gain profound insights into the monumental changes accompanying social progress, technological advancement, and the development of the times in the 21st century. Research on major issues cannot rely solely on a single discipline or individual; it is necessary to strengthen the cross-fertilization of disciplines, organize cross-unit, cross-field, and cross-disciplinary research, and break down the research barriers created by “departmental and regional fragmentation” (tiaokuai fenge). Third, upholding the spirit of open doors, inclusiveness, and reform and innovation, young scholars should continuously improve their scientific research level through mutual learning and reference, contributing to the innovative development of Marxist theory.
During the keynote report session, five invited experts delivered thematic reports on issues related to AI and socialist research, integrated with their respective research fields.
Liu Yongmou, Wu Yuzhang Chair Professor at Renmin University of China, spoke on “The Intelligent Revolution and the Future of Humanity,” exploring disruptive events related to AI, the mechanization of Homo sapiens, the rise of “Scientific Man,” the civilizational precipice of AI, and long-term agile governance. His main points included: 1) the intelligent revolution is driving human society from an “AI-assisted survival society” toward an “AI-replacing labor society”; 2) in the face of machine intelligence, we should adhere to a selectionist view of technological control, namely AI finitism; 3) as the intelligent revolution advances, human self-cognition no longer relies on religion, myth, or superstition, but increasingly on the methods of natural science. “Scientific Man” is a new concept under the influence of new technology, where humans gradually view themselves as objects that can be measured, controlled, and transformed, optimizing their physical and mental states through technological means; 4) “human-machine symbiosis does not equal human-machine win-win.” “Long-term agile governance” must be applied to AI, using ethical norms to constrain technological abuse before risks become manifest.
Sun Zhen, Tenured Associate Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the Institute of Economics, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, spoke on “Artificial Intelligence and 'the All-Round Development of the Individual': From Attention Deprivation to Capability Liberation.” He explored attention as a new key factor of production in the digital economy era. His main points included: 1) understanding the alienation of attention from the perspective of “human development”; 2) explaining the crisis of attention structure and capability construction in the AI era; 3) constructing a socialist cognitive governance system as a path of response.
Liu Zhe, Director of the Industry Development Research Center at the China Electronic Standardization Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Senior Engineer, spoke on “The Current Status and Outlook of Standardization Facilitating the Development of the AI Industry.” He clarified the concept of standards; explained the role played by standardization at different stages of industrial development; analyzed the progress of standardization work in the field of AI; and proposed work outlooks and development suggestions.
Zhang Jianyun, Director and Research Fellow of the Department of Marxist Philosophy at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, spoke on “Digital-Intelligent Technology and the Current New Round of Scientific and Technological Revolution.” He explored how the digital-intelligent technology system formed by the great integration of information technology is the dominant force in the new round of scientific and technological revolution; how the liberation of mental labor by AI supported by this system is a key component; and how the massive liberation of mental labor driving changes in the mode of production is a significant result.
Ren Limei, Associate Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, spoke on “Artificial Intelligence and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” She explored five dimensions: “Grasping the Trend” (qushi)—developing AI to lead the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation; “Clarifying the Path” (mingdao)—the future direction of AI technology can only be socialism; “Optimizing the Method” (youshu)—promoting digital-intelligent technological innovation through the new-type whole-nation system [2]; “Uniting the Masses” (hezhong)—serving the people and benefiting humanity through the concept of sharing and win-win; and “Implementation” (jianxing)—stepping into a better “Digital-Intelligent Future” through reform and innovation.
In the youth scholar presentation session, six youth representatives spoke.
Chen Yongsheng, Associate Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, spoke on “Research on Artificial Intelligence and the Development of New Quality Productive Forces from the Perspective of Marx’s View of Machinery.” He explored the theoretical core of Marx’s view of machinery; provided a Marxist analysis of AI; and explained the paths, mechanisms, challenges, and practical applications within the Chinese context of AI empowering the development of new quality productive forces.
Lei Huanjie, Associate Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Philosophy, spoke on “Ethical Examination of AI and Technological Hegemony.” He analyzed the current status of research on the intelligent revolution and technological ethics, transitioned to research on technological hegemony, explained the current status, characteristics, and multiple ethical issues faced by technological hegemonism, and provided response strategies from a Chinese perspective.
Song Lidan, Associate Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, spoke on “The AI Revolution and the Contestation of Social Systems.” She argued that the AI revolution confirms that Marxist judgments on capitalism are not out of date, analyzed the differences in responses to AI between capitalism and socialism, and, from the height of the systemic contestation within the context of “changes unseen in a century” [3], proposed the reconstruction of a global digital governance system, advocating that digital civilization is the technological path to human liberation.
Xu Haoqing, Assistant Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Economics, spoke on “Artificial Intelligence and Employment: Substitution Effect or Creation Effect?” He argued that AI may be the most important driving force for developing new quality productive forces and used a typical production function model to analyze the issue of AI and employment. He proposed that the “substitution effect” of automation replacing labor is gradually giving way to a “creation effect” that promotes productivity and employment.
Zhang Ge, Assistant Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, spoke on “An Analysis of the Path for AI Empowering Atheist Publicity and Education.” He explored three forms of the combination of AI and theism; analyzed the path for AI empowering atheist publicity and education; and proposed focusing on using intelligent algorithm recommendations to empower atheist publicity and education and the innovation of atheist publicity and education discourse through AI.
Zhao Dingqi, Assistant Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, spoke on “Techno-Feudalism and New Changes in Capitalism.” He reviewed the academic history of techno-feudalism, explained the thoughts of Cédric Durand and Yanis Varoufakis on techno-feudalism, and provided an evaluation of the concept.
This “Artificial Intelligence and Socialist Research” Youth Thematic Seminar successfully established a platform for cross-disciplinary exchange, bringing together experts and scholars from various fields to conduct in-depth discussions on frontier issues such as AI ethics and technological governance. The invited experts and young scholars emphasized using Marxism as a guide to promote the integration of AI with socialist modernization and proposed innovative perspectives based on their respective research fields, demonstrating the potential for exploration and innovation among young scholars in the cross-fertilization of disciplines.