Abstracts and Speaker Bios
Workshop 2
“AI Narratives in Temporary Chinese Science Fiction”
WU Yan
Topic
Chinese AI Science Fiction in the Early Period of Reform and Opening-Up (1978-1983)
Abstract
Science fiction on the themes of computers and robots emerged early but in a scattered manner in China. In the stories, the protagonists are largely humanlike assistants chiefly collecting data or doing daily manual labor, and this does not fall in the category of today’s artificial intelligence. Major changes took place after the reform and opening-up in 1978 in this regard. In 1979, the number of robot-themed works ballooned. By 1980, the quality of works also saw a quantum leap, and stories on the nature of artificial intelligence began to appear. At this stage, the AI works such as Spy Case Outside the Pitch, Dulles and Alice, Professor Shalom’s Misconception, and Riot on the Ziwei Island That Shocked the World describe how intelligent robots respond to activities such as adversarial ball games (note that these are not chess games), fully integrate into the daily life of humans, and launch collective riots beyond legal norms under special circumstances. The ideas that the growth of artificial intelligence requires a suitable environment, stable family relationship, social adaptation, etc. are still of important value.
Bio
WU Yan is a professor and PhD supervisor at the Humanities Center of Southern University of Science and Technology. He is a science fiction writer, vice chairman of the China Science Writers Association, recipient of the Thomas D Clareson Award of the American Science Fiction Research Association, and co-founder of the Xingyun (Nebula) Awards for Global Chinese Science Fiction. He is the author of science fictions such as Adventure of the Soul and The Sixth Day of Life and Death, academic works such as Outline of Science Fiction Literature, and textbooks such as Science and Fantasy - Training Course for Youth Imagination and Scientific Innovation.
ZHANG Feng（pen name “Sanfeng”）
Topic
Algorithm of the Soul: Narrative of AI in Recent Chinese Science Fiction
Abstract
As artificial intelligence has been applied to the fields of technology and daily life in the past decade, the AI narrative in Chinese science fiction has also seen seismic changes. On the one hand, young authors are aware that the “soul” of AI comes, to a large extent, from machine learning algorithms. As a result, their works often highlight the existence and implementation of algorithms, bringing maneuverability and credibility to the AI. On the other hand, the authors prefer to focus on the conflicts and contradictions in emotions, ethics, and morality caused by AI that penetrate into human life. If the previous AI-themed science fiction is like a distant robot fable, the recent AI narrative assumes contemporary and practical significance. This report focuses on exploring the AI-themed science fiction by several young authors (including Hao Jingfang’s The Problem of Love and Where Are You, Chen Qiufan’s Image Maker and Algorithm for Life, and Xia Jia’s Let’s Have a Talk and Shejiang, Baoshu’s Little Girl and Shuangchimu’s The Cock Prince, etc.) to delve into the breakthroughs and achievements in AI narratives.
Bio
Sanfeng is a science fiction researcher, visiting researcher of the Humanities Center of Southern University of Science and Technology, chief researcher of Shenzhen Science & Fantasy Growth Foundation, honorary assistant professor of the University of Hong Kong, Secretary-General of the World Chinese Science Fiction Association, and editor-in-chief of Nebula Science Fiction Review. His research covers the history of Chinese science fiction, development of science fiction industry, science fiction and urban development, science fiction and technological innovation, etc.
HAO Jingfang
Bio
Hao Jingfang is an author and a researcher. Hao graduated from Tsinghua University in 2006 with an undergraduate degree in physics, and she later attained her PhD in Economics and Management from the same university in 2013. She worked as Deputy Director of Research Department I in China Development Research Foundation from 2013 to 2018. She was a visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School in 2018. Her research projects during those years include The Coordination of Big City Groups in China, The Rise and Fall of Great Nations, The Labor Market in the Era of Artificial Intelligence, and The Structure of Research and Innovation in China, etc. Hao started to write novels in 2006, and she won “The Best Novelette” award for her short story “Folding Beijing” at the 74th World Science Fiction Convention.
Baoshu
Bio
Baoshu is a freelance science fiction and fantasy writer. He has published five novels and dozens of shorter works since 2010, including Three Body X: Redemption of Time , Ruins of Time (winner of the 2014 Chinese Nebula Award for Best Novel), Seven States of the Galaxy: Phantom From an Ancient Empire, "Everybody Loves Charles" ( the 2015 Galaxy Award for Best Novella) etc. He lives in Xi’an, China.
CHEN Qiufan
Bio
Chen Qiufan is the founder of Chuanmao Culture, science fiction writer, screenwriter, translator and curator. He is the deputy director of the Science Fiction Committee of China Science Writers Association, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Xingyun (Nebula) Awards for Global Chinese Science Fiction, and a member of the Jiu San Society. He has won many domestic and foreign awards such as the Nebula Award, the Galaxy Award, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Translation Award. His works have been translated into over 20 languages. He is the first Chinese writer to publish articles in many European and American science fiction magazines. His representative works include The Waste Tide, The Algorithm for Life, Mutation Engine, etc.
Feidao
Bio
Feidao is a science fiction writer and holds a PhD in literature. He is an associate professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Tsinghua University. He is the author of the collections of short stories Chinese Science Fiction Blockbusters, Long Journey to Death, etc. Moreover, he published academic articles in journals such as Science Fiction Studies, Literary Review, and Dushu. His works have been translated into English, Italian, Japanese, etc.
WANG Yao（pen name “Xia Jia”）
Bio
Wang Yao, writing with the pen name Xia Jia, is the Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Chinese Literature at Xi’an Jiaotong University. Her academic work on contemporary Chinese science fiction, Coordinates of the Future: Discussions on Chinese Science Fiction in the Age of Globalization, was published in 2019. Seven of her stories have won the Galaxy Award, China's most prestigious science fiction award. So far, she has published a fantasy novel Odyssey of China Fantasy: On the Road (2010), as well as three science fiction collections The Demon Enslaving Flask (2012), A Time Beyond Your Reach (2017) and Xi’an City Is Falling Down (2018). Recently she has been working on a science fiction fix-up, entitled Chinese Encyclopedia. Her works have been translated into many languages. Her first novel written in English, Let’s Have a Talk, was published in Nature in 2015. Her first English collection A Summer Beyond Your Reach: Stories was published in 2020.