SUFE President Liu Yuanchun: AI is a 'super technology' requiring proactive governance to address existential risks

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years is reshaping productivity, capital, and even the structure of human society in ways that go beyond the trajectory of previous industrial revolutions, according to Liu Yuanchun, President of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Speaking at the "Digital Humanities, Innovative Ecology" high-end dialogue held on July 24, Liu described AI not as a conventional technological upgrade, but as a quintessential "super technology." He argued that from the evolution of traditional economic growth pathways to the tangible impact on humanities disciplines in higher education, and further into the deep waters of governance concerning survival, distribution, and organizational systems, humanity's existing response frameworks are facing a systemic test.

"In fact, the traditional path of technology's impact on growth is different from the path this super technology will take in affecting human society and economic growth," Liu said.

He emphasized that understanding AI requires recognizing its disruptive nature. "This means we need to re-understand AI as a super technology. The intensity, temporal path, and manner of economic growth it may trigger go beyond our general concept of technology."

Impact on Education and Humanities

The impact on existing systems has already created clear fractures in education and academia. Liu noted that within the university system, "when the AI world arrives, many humanities disciplines will decline." However, the deeper crisis lies not merely in the shrinking of disciplines, but in a misalignment of thinking dimensions. "When people focus on the humanities, they often complain about AI's reshaping and harm to the humanities. But there is insufficient reflection on how the intrinsic value and meaning of the humanities themselves can be elevated."

Three Layers of Governance Thinking

Addressing the frequently discussed topics of AI legislation and governance, Liu outlined several fundamental considerations that must be confronted.

Layer One: Human Agency at the Technological Frontier

The first concern centers on the survival of human agency at the endpoint of technological development. "The first question is: at the end of this technology, can AI completely break free from human control and replace humans as another form of consciousness and subject?"

Liu noted that this concern is not unfounded. Several leaders of major technology companies have publicly called for AI regulation, citing the risk that unchecked development "could bring devastating impacts to humanity." He referenced recent industry developments, including Elon Musk's video specifically discussing the situation regarding ChatGPT-6. For non-technical personnel, Liu stressed the importance of heeding signals from core industry figures: "If what these people say is true, then humanity as a whole must systematically guard against the destructive potential of this technology, comprehensively regulate AI, and establish safety nets."

Layer Two: Efficiency vs. Equity

The second layer of governance concerns efficiency and fairness. Liu referenced an open letter from July 13, signed by nearly 200 researchers and entrepreneurs, including 16 Nobel laureates. The letter conveyed three core consensuses:

• This AI technology is fundamentally different from previous technologies
• Its impact and consequences exceed traditional imagination
• Governments must establish corresponding regulatory and preventive mechanisms

Liu observed that with technological advances over the past two years, many economists who were previously pessimistic about AI's impact have changed their views. For example, economist Daron Acemoglu has argued in recent research that AI will affect employment structures and wealth inequality.

"Even if it does not bring catastrophic consequences at the technological level, it will certainly impact our existing social structure," Liu warned. He called for governance measures to be significantly advanced, with a core focus on proactively preparing the entire social system to address AI's impact on traditional structures while harnessing its benefits for humanity.

Layer Three: Moving Beyond Spontaneous Order

The third layer of governance, according to Liu, involves abandoning reliance on spontaneous order and building a "subject foundation" for technology to serve the public good.

Liu stated that historically, every major technological revolution has triggered a revolution in production methods. Consequently, the relationship between technology and the humanities has become the core foundation of governance.

The impact on the humanities, the reconstruction of subjective meaning, and the restatement of subjective value are not only key pathways to "technology for good" but also the core elements for building defenses against technological risks. He noted that top technical experts such as Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer often ultimately turned to philosophical and deeper thinking.

Unlike the three previous industrial revolutions, AI's unique technological characteristics mean that humanity cannot passively wait for the system to self-correct. Liu emphasized that society must abandon the idea that "spontaneous order can automatically achieve a soft landing" in the macro-level organizational and institutional framework. Only through proactive institutional design can humanity fully enjoy the growth momentum brought by AI while effectively mitigating the potential impacts on human consciousness and social structure.