The First Youth Symposium of 2025 of the Academy of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Held Successfully
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 Meeting Room 1237 of the Research Building. The forum, themed "Artificial Intelligence and Socialist Research," aimed to strengthen theoretical study and exchange among young scholars and bolster the development of the youth talent pool. Luo Wendong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies, attended the meeting and delivered an address. Over 20 experts and young scholars from institutions including 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 Marxist Principles of the Institute of Marxism Studies and Head of the Youth Working Group, and Liu Ying, Associate Research Fellow and Group Leader of the Youth Working Group of the Institute of Marxism Studies.
In his address, Luo Wendong pointed out that holding youth thematic seminars is an important measure for strengthening the development of the youth talent pool. He emphasized that these must be conducted with distinctive character and high quality to continuously promote the growth and success of young scholars. First, it is necessary to comprehensively study and grasp the basic tenets of Marxism regarding science and technology, and to combine them with China’s specific realities and the best of traditional Chinese culture [1] in order to advance the development of 21st-century Marxist research. Particular importance must be attached to the study, research, and application of Marxist classical works such as The Poverty of Philosophy, Dialectics of Nature, and Materialism and Empirio-criticism. Second, cross-disciplinary comprehensive research on major social frontier issues must be strengthened to deeply perceive and gain insight into the profound changes accompanying social progress, scientific and technological advancement, and the development of the era in the 21st century. Research on major issues cannot rely solely on a single discipline or individual; it is necessary to strengthen disciplinary intersection and integration, organize cross-unit, cross-field, and cross-disciplinary research, and break down the "fragmented" [2] research barriers. Third, adhering to the spirit of "running the institute with open doors," openness, 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 in conjunction 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 AI events, the "machinization" of Homo sapiens, the rise of "Scientific Man," the "civilizational cliff" of AI, and long-term agile governance. Key arguments included: First, the intelligent revolution is driving human society through a transition from an "AI-assisted survival society" to an "AI-replacing labor society." Second, faced with the intelligence of machines, we should adhere to a "selectionist" view of technical control, namely AI finitism. Third, as the intelligent revolution advances, human self-cognition no longer relies on religion, myth, or even 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 technical means. Fourth, "human-machine symbiosis does not equal human-machine win-win"; AI requires "long-term agile governance," using ethical norms to constrain technical abuse before risks become manifest.
Sun Zhen, 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 Capacity Liberation." He explored "attention" as a new key factor of production in the digital economy era. Key arguments included: understanding the alienation of attention from the perspective of "human development"; explaining the crisis of attention structure and capacity construction in the AI era; and constructing a socialist cognitive governance system as a responsive path.
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 "Current Status and Prospects of Standardization Responding to AI Industrial Development." He focused on clarifying the concept of "standards," elucidating the role of standardization at different stages of industrial development, analyzing progress in AI standardization work, and proposing future prospects and development suggestions.
Zhang Jianyun, Director and Research Fellow of the Marxist Philosophy Department 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 digital-intelligent technology is a key component; and how the massive liberation of mental labor drives changes in the mode of production as a significant outcome of this new round.
Ren Limei, Associate Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, spoke on "Artificial Intelligence and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," exploring five dimensions: "Seizing the Trend" [3] (developing AI to lead the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation); "Clarifying the Path" (the future direction of AI technology can only be socialism); "Refining the Method" (promoting digital-intelligent technological innovation through the new-type whole-nation system [4]); "Uniting the People" (serving the people and benefiting humanity with the concepts of sharing and win-win); and "Putting into Practice" (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, conducted a Marxist analysis of AI, and explained the paths, mechanisms, challenges, and practical applications within the Chinese context for AI-empowered development of new quality productive forces.
Lei Huanjie, Associate Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Philosophy, spoke on "Ethical Scrutiny of Artificial Intelligence and Technological Hegemony." He analyzed the current state of intelligent revolution and techno-ethics research, transitioned to the study of technological hegemony, explained its current status, characteristics, and multiple ethical problems, 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 Contest of Social Systems." She argued that the AI revolution confirms that Marxist judgments on capitalism are not outdated, analyzed the differences in AI responses between capitalism and socialism, and, from the height of the "systemic contest amidst changes unseen in a century" [5], proposed the reconstruction of a global digital governance system, advocating that digital civilization is the technical 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 driver for developing new quality productive forces and used a typical production function model to analyze AI and employment, suggesting that the "substitution effect" of automation is gradually giving way to a "creation effect" that promotes productivity and employment growth.
Zhang Ge, Assistant Research Fellow at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, spoke on "Exploration of Paths for AI-Empowered Atheist Propaganda and Education." He explored three forms of the combination of AI and theism, analyzed paths for AI-empowered atheist propaganda, and proposed focusing on using intelligent algorithm recommendations and discourse innovation.
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 the subject, and provided an evaluation of the concept.
This Youth Thematic Seminar on "Artificial Intelligence and Socialist Research" successfully built 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 participating 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 research fields, demonstrating the potential for exploration and innovation among young scholars in disciplinary integration.