China Workshop I
AI Narratives in Chinese Classics and their Influence on Society Today
On Tuesday 18th August, the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) at the University of Cambridge joined forces with The Berggruen Institute China Centre at Peking University to conduct a workshop entitled ‘AI Narratives in Chinese Classics and their Influence on Society Today’. The workshop marked the first fully virtual event of CFI’s Global AI Narratives Project, an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural initiative seeking to understand localized interpretations of artificial intelligence (AI) in different countries and communities around the world. As Dr Kanta Dihal, principal investigator of the Global AI Narratives project, explains, much research on portrayals and perceptions of AI has up to now primarily been focused on the western tradition, drawing on English-language sources. Yet the impact of AI promises to be truly global. Only by building collaborations across countries and cultures can we understand how different worldviews shape the balance of hopes and fears arising from the marching advancement and increasing penetration of AI technologies.
China, from ancient civilization to modernity, has experienced an astonishing degree of cultural continuity spanning thousands of years. Only in the past 150 years has China been exposed to imported Western thought, such as industrialization, globalization and even the soft power of Hollywood movies. If we consider these imported ideas alone, Chinese attitudes towards AI often seem to mirror Western conceptions of the relationship between man and machine as analogous to master and slave. However, 150 years of imported ideas does not fully eclipse the cultural continuities and philosophical traditions which have persisted domestically across many millennia. China continues to be shaped by its ancient past rooted in Confucianism and Daoism, and this workshop sought to initiate a discussion into what these ‘sticky’ cultural components and historical narratives can tell us about current perceptions towards AI.
Beginning with the treatment of mechanical invention in Pre-Qin thought, Professor Zhang Baichun[i] introduced his research on the history of science and technology in China presenting a narrative spanning from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and the Eastern Han (25-220AD), to the Song and Yuan dynasties (960-1368 AD). This ancient philosophical interpretation of attitudes towards equipment, arms and machinery can help us understand the influence of Pre-Qin thought on acceptance of the emerging technologies of our day. Ancient texts and parables reveal that scholars from Mohism, Taoism and Confucianism held an apprehensive view towards technological invention, driven by the disturbance technology was expected to bring to the existing order of the world. For example, the influential 4th century philosopher Zhuangzi disapproved of the use of machines such as Juxi (桔槔, a tool to draw water from a well), believing that “where there are ingenious contrivances, there are sure to be subtle doings; and that, where there are subtle doings, there is sure to be a scheming mind". Automatic machines and weapons were also thought of as supernatural and, as such,were met with disapproval in the minds of the key thinkers of the day.
Many people believe Taoist and Confucian thought is responsible for China’s historic lack of technology; that technological development was stalled by a persisting objection to everything man made which disrupts the existing natural order of the cosmos. In his talk Professor Zhang disputes this ancestral blame and describes how in each dynastic period the path of technological development was not subdued by a philosophical disdain for its assimilation into society. Zhang points to evidence of many new inventions arising throughout the Warring States period, to the Han, the Tang, the Northern Song and the Yuan dynasties. As Song Bing, Director of the Berggruen China Centre, summarises: the philosophies of ancient China did not seem to inhibit the technologies of ancient China.
Rather, drawing a parallel from past to present, Professor Zhang tells how in ancient stories new technologies were met with doubt due to a fear of the unknown. This pattern repeats in modern times: with a lack of prior knowledge over how a technology works comes uncertainty over the magnitude and beneficence of its effect, so imagination governs people’s expectations. Professor Zhang also highlighted how ancient stories emphasise how personal behaviour can change the intended use of the technology – “a knife can be used to chop meat, or kill a person”. Taking these two lessons from historic treatment of new technologies of the time, attitudes towards AI may be driven by a fear of unknown answers to two questions: How does the technology work? And for what purpose will it be applied?
Continuing with a philosophical discussion of technology, Gai Fei[ii], a specialist in Chinese philosophy and ethics, explained the distinction between skill, technique and dexterity in the Daoist Theory of Technology. ‘The Dao’ (道), refers to the way, path or principles governing nature and how individuals should live their lives. To follow the Dao is the ultimate aim, but skills and techniques are the guiding path. They are the means to reach this end. Accordingly, the Daoist Theory of Technology can be described in two axes: weiqiao (为巧, practising the skill) and weidao (为道，practising the Way). Gai Fei sees modern parallels, where weiqiao is similar to using AI technology to improve productivity and to achieve better quality of life, weidao is the process of achieving a state of harmony with AI technology.
Differences in Eastern versus Western beliefs in celestial beings as integral to informing our modern treatment of AI… In western thought supernatural beings are often dark, scary, or evil. They are something to be defeated. By contrast, in Chinese mythology supernatural beings are often positive forces with whom humans can interact and communicate.
Gai also pointed to differences in Eastern versus Western beliefs in celestial beings as integral to informing our modern treatment of AI. From Greek mythology and monotheistic religions stems a stereotypical Western hierarchy of gods as superior to humans. Conversely, in Chinese mythology, supernatural beings were more accessible, occupying a more interactive and reciprocal role in human life. In Daoist thought, a human is the master of their own way and so all humans in the end can become deities. Furthermore, in western thought supernatural beings are often dark, scary, or evil (e.g. ghost, spirits, daemons, monsters) and they do not communicate with humans. Rather, they are something to be defeated. By contrast, in Chinese mythology supernatural beings are often positive forces with whom humans can interact and communicate. If treated well by humans, the supernatural being might bestow blessings on a human.
Transcending the boundaries between natural and supernatural beings creates unity between human and deity. Mirroring this belief structure, an artificial being of superhuman intelligence is less likely to be considered to be in a competitive hierarchy with humans. Instead, AI can coexist harmoniously, and even allow humans to better their own lives by becoming ‘superhuman’ through technological collaboration. Despite originating from ancient Daoist thought, this idea has been discussed in recent times most prominently by technologists such as Elon Musk who propose that better integration through human-computer interfaces implanted in the brain can reduce the likelihood that the machine dominates humans because they have been made as one.
The final interpretation of ancient and modern perceptions towards technology was offered by Shanghai artist Qiu Anxiong[iii] through the lens of his exploratory work entitled ‘The New Classic of Mountains and Seas’. The pieces in his collection share a common theme – mechanical and modern objects are superimposed onto Chinese classical-style paintings, reflecting a unique synthesis of old and new. The artwork is imaginative and thought-provoking: missiles shaped as fish, cars depicted as beasts of burden, tanks merged into the form of ducks, birds as helicopters, and bees as drones. Qiu’s animations equally blur the line between reality and virtual reality, bringing to life the pessimistic future of his imagination where people stay indoors all day, interacting only with their computer and experiencing all of life through virtual reality. Qiu’s interpretations reveal the increasingly undetectable distinction between what is real and what is virtual, and so heed a warning against the full integration of man and machine.
In sum, China’s rich and intellectually diverse history presents a culturally specific narrative towards the treatment of emerging technologies and the hierarchy of human and artificial beings. As Stephen Cave, Executive Director of CFI queried, do these historical narratives and cultural determinants create divergence from the master-slave relationship so dominant in the Western perception of AI? It would appear so. The understanding of immortals in Chinese philosophy and religion, where humans themselves, animals, and even tools can adopt spiritual status, places artificial beings on a more equal standing as not a force to enslave, but a force to collaborate with. The determinacy of technology’s effect as dependent on how it is used, suggests AI is considered not as a threatening force to humanity but also as a force for good, in the same way that a knife can both assist human life and end life. Whether we can coexist harmoniously with AI also depends on how we use it and interact with it. Despite China’s prominent role in driving technological development and the ever-maturing AI ecosystem, looking to the past not the future can help us better ground our understanding of persistent cultural influences on perceptions towards emerging technologies.
Two follow-up AI Narratives in China workshops will be held: on November 17, 2020 we will explore AI narratives in contemporary Chinese science fiction, and in January 2021 we will discuss public perceptions of AI in China. By exploring localised narratives of technology and artificial intelligence, the Global AI Narratives workshops begin to build a nuanced global perspective of how artificial intelligence will shape our shared future.
Workshop summary by Hannah Rose Kirk
Edited by Elizabeth Seger
[i] Zhang Baichun is the Professor and Director at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute for the History of Natural Sciences. He is the editor-in-chief of Chinese Annals of History of Science and Technology. His research area focuses on the history of science and technology in China, especially the history of machinery, mechanics, knowledge dissemination and technology transfer.
[ii] Gai Fei is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Philosophy at Yunnan University and Director of the Department of Chinese Philosophy and Ethics. Her research includes work on Daoist esoteric practices, belief in celestial beings and the philosophy of Zhuangzi.
[iii] Qiu Anxiong is an independent artist and Associate Professor at the School of Design, East China Normal University. He is considered a pioneer in introducing the aesthetics of ink painting to animation.