Zhou Hongyi tells Liu Cixin: refuse AI and civilisation will stagnate

Conference flashpoint: AI as civilisation’s engine

It has been reported that at the 2026 China Science Fiction Conference, Zhou Hongyi (周鸿祎), founder of 360 Group (360集团/奇虎360), debated the future of humanity with novelist Liu Cixin (刘慈欣) and researcher Zhang Shuangnan (张双南) of the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院高能物理研究所). The key argument: accelerating AI development is not optional. Zhou framed the choice bluntly — develop and manage intelligent agents, or risk social bifurcation and technological dependency.

Autonomy, taste and the fragmentation of software

Reportedly, Liu argued that if AI takes over most decision-making and societal functions, questions of human “progress” versus “regress” lose their meaning because the subject of civilisation itself changes. Zhou warned that human groups will diverge: those who cannot use or govern smart agents such as the so‑called Longxia (龙虾) intelligent agents risk becoming dependents, while builders and managers of agents retain agency. Zhou also predicted — reportedly — that code production will outstrip human oversight, making software development “fragmented” and disposable; taste, aesthetic judgment and critical discernment will become the scarce human skills.

Human niche and geopolitical context

Zhang stressed that technology compensates for human shortcomings and that curiosity, imagination and creativity remain humanity’s ecological niche — we evolve with AI to improve life. This public debate plays out against broader geopolitical tensions: export controls on advanced chips and Western scrutiny of AI supply chains shape China’s push for self‑sufficient, large‑scale AI capabilities. The question for readers in the West and East alike remains: will societies shape AI, or will AI reshape what we mean by civilisation?