A flying car and a Mornine gen-1 humanoid robot on display at the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show in Shanghai on April 24, 2025 Photo: IC PHOTO

With the rapid advancement of digital intelligence technologies, a new logic—characterized by algorithmic dominance, human-machine integration, and the fusion of virtual and physical realities—is increasingly permeating everyday life. The constant emergence of innovative smart wearable devices and applications enabled by the Internet of Everything is transforming the internet into a true “extension of the human being.” This logic of digital intelligence is transforming modes of production and daily life at the level of infrastructure, reshaping social cooperation and interpersonal interactions at the level of fundamental structures, and reconstructing the ways we perceive, engage with, and intervene in the world at the most foundational level.

From ubiquitous computing to solidarity

The idea of “ubiquitous solidarity” draws inspiration from the concept of “ubiquitous computing” in computer science. In 1991, Mark Weiser introduced the term “ubiquitous computing” (also known as pervasive computing) to describe a state in which computational technology is seamlessly embedded into everyday environments, becoming effectively invisible. Ubiquitous computing envisions contextualized, multimedia interactions between humans and machines, enabled by context-aware systems and multiple multimodal interfaces, all designed to operate non-intrusively—or even imperceptibly.

The rapid development of 5G networks and edge computing has accelerated the diversification of Internet of Things (IoT) terminals, making ubiquitous computational power and algorithmic processing an emerging reality. Ubiquitous computing connects highly heterogeneous individuals and objects through fast, automated computational capabilities, quantifying massive amounts of data that the human mind alone cannot process. This creates a networked space that evolves from disorder toward a complex, yet ordered, system—one that seamlessly integrates into the fabric of daily life.

Algorithms operate like an invisible hand, constantly weaving the digital backdrop of human activity. Through the combined force of data, algorithms, and computational power, digital society progresses from the digitalized to the datafied, and ultimately to the intelligent. In this process, the fragmented actions and environments of countless individuals are aggregated into a cohesive digital social system. This algorithm-driven form of integration may be understood as “ubiquitous solidarity.”

Ubiquitous solidarity reflects a new form of social structure and order shaped by algorithms. It captures not only the broad patterns of connection between individuals and society in an era of mediated interaction, but also portrays a digitally symbiotic and coexistent social order that links heterogeneous subjects within a unified spatial framework. Just as ubiquitous computing envisions a symbiotic model of human–machine–human interaction across scenes and contexts, ubiquitous solidarity necessarily brings into focus questions about the human condition, the human–machine relationship, and the evolving dynamic between individuals and society—all built upon these foundational elements and their interrelations.

At its core, ubiquitous solidarity constitutes a form of social cohesion structured through algorithmic coverage. The all-encompassing, full-process, real-time information-gathering networks formed by the Internet of Everything—and increasingly by the Intelligence of Everything—position individuals within a computational world that is omnipresent, omnipotent, and highly individualized. Once connected to the internet, individuals inevitably enter the realm of computation, where algorithmic configurations and traffic rules create hyper real “simulated environments” that shape cognition, decision-making, and self-narratives.

Within this algorithmic framework, social connectivity is realized through the digitized expressions of human–machine–human interaction across individuals, communities, spaces, and cultures. This mode of connection represents not only an extension of real-world social relationships into the digital realm, but also a transformation of social engagement into a digitally mediated experience. It is manifest in the quantification of individuals’ physical bodies and inner thoughts, the digital linking of communities across presence and absence, the real-time embedding of social relationships across virtual and physical spaces, and the mediation of communication through exchanges of digital culture.

Change in social composition

In the context of ubiquitous solidarity, the fundamental elements of social composition have undergone profound changes, which can be summarized across four key dimensions.

First, various types of “human beings” exist within digital society. Beyond traditional physical humans (real individuals), there now exist digital virtual humans—digital extensions of real people or entirely non-biological digital entities—as well as intelligent digital beings. These intelligent agents range from smart voice or writing assistants capable of handling real-time inquiries to embodied agents equipped with perception, environmental recognition, and autonomous decision-making capabilities. Early examples include humanoid robots offering medical guidance, companionship, or artistic creation. Increasingly sophisticated human–computer interactions foster not only functional “collaboration” between humans and machines but also an emergent sense of emotional “partnership.”

Second, communities have shifted from physical to virtual. Ubiquitous communities include physical communities, online communities, and virtual communities, reflecting how digital technology has fundamentally changed the spaces and environments in which community life and interaction occur. These heterogeneous spatial scenes—spanning presence and online connectivity—enable social actors to interact across domains. Online and virtual communities extend the social nature of individuals in physical communities. Virtual reality extends human vision and provides a sensorially rich, embodied experience in digital space. The integration of online and offline connectivity facilitates a form of networked socialization in which individuals’ physical “absence” is complemented by virtual “presence,” directly shaping one’s identity and status within the community and giving rise to new social relations and community-based cultural emotions.

Third, the shift from industrial division of labor to intelligent digital division of labor has take place. Intelligent digital labor involves divisions between humans and digital platforms, humans and digital robots, humans and application software, as well as between humans and data-flow algorithms. This form of labor division blurs traditional modes of labor and even the principle of remuneration. In the digital-intelligent era, social division of labor is no longer bound by time and space; often, people do not communicate directly with one another but instead interact via machines in a “human–machine–human” model of mediation.

Fourth, “integration” and “fusion” are occurring within the digital economy. As an advanced productive force, digital technologies are reshaping the economic forms of industrial society. Integration and fusion is facilitated through various platforms, which function as channels for communication and transactions, information providers, industrial organizers, and interest coordinators. Thus, with platforms at the core, not only has a platform economy emerged, but society as a whole has also become tightly interconnected.

Transboundary ubiquity

Ubiquitous solidarity exhibits transboundary ubiquity across different types of “humans,” virtual-physical communities and workspaces, human-machine-intelligent labor divisions, and digital-economic platforms. Its essential nature is reflected in the following aspects.

First, underpinned by algorithmic mechanisms, ubiquitous solidarity transcends the spatial and temporal separations between heterogeneous species of elements, forming extensive connections and benefit-sharing relationships among heterogeneous subjects and across heterogeneous scenarios. Between these subjects and scenarios, a relationship of cohabitation and symbiosis emerges. Social interactions between heterogeneous entities are not only reflected in the extensive interconnection among individuals as natural persons and the spatial interweaving of domestic and professional spheres, but also in the quantification and connectivity of the human body via wearable devices, the seamless real-time transition between virtual and physical spaces, and the labor and distribution dynamics involving artificial intelligence. These characteristics reflect the transboundary linkages of social space, time structures, and social relations in the digital society, as well as their symbiotic coexistence.

Second, ubiquitous solidarity is of a chaotic and integrative nature. From the perspective of self-organized operations, chaos represents the non-linear, dynamic, and independent connectivity of elements. Information is fluid but can be computed in real time, generating a quantifiable social space—one that operates with certain regularities but cannot be linearly predicted over the long term. It is precisely this complex but non-chaotic computational capacity that enables communicable, interactive, and controllable relationships between the various types of entities, including physical and digital humans and local and virtual communities, thus establishing certain dynamic patterns.

In this sense, chaotic uncertainty becomes the norm in digital society. Integration is a response to this chaos, expressing the dynamic regularities that emerge from within it. It refers to digital-driven innovation among heterogeneous social elements. When digital interaction occurs between such elements, personalized, individualized, diversified, and differentiated modes of interaction require the construction of common ground to ensure the circulation, sharing, and mutual accessibility of digital resources.

Third, ubiquitous solidarity functions as a networked order subordinate to algorithmic power. In digital society, individuals are no longer constrained by physical location—they can establish broad and fluid connections anytime and anywhere via networks. The relationship between individuals and society thus becomes a form of parallel symbiosis powered by algorithms. This flattened, individualized system of algorithmic power gives rise to new forms of social integration.

Finally, the wholeness of ubiquitous solidarity comes into view. The universal connectivity of digital society itself possesses an intrinsic sense of wholeness, manifested across three dimensions: the material foundation of ubiquitous connectivity is reflected in the digitization of economic activity through information networks; the widespread linkage of resources in digital cyberspace; and the pervasive connectivity grounded in subjective digital interaction. All these depend on a society’s inherent attributes, values, and modes of cultural communication.

If mechanical solidarity stems from the social dependence of individual homogeneity, and organic solidarity arises from economic cooperation through functional differentiation, then ubiquitous solidarity emerges from intelligent information interconnectivity. The transition from digital and data to intelligent digitality reflects the evolutionary path of digital society. Meanwhile, algorithms, data, and computing power constitute its new structures and power relations, regulating the social order of ubiquitous solidarity.

Yet, it is inevitable that ubiquitous solidarity will also confront emerging social challenges. On one hand, digital exclusion, filter bubbles, and digital divides are reshaping social stratification, while species competition between physical humans and intelligent digital beings stirs anxiety. On the other hand, human-machine interaction, communication, and cooperation may weaken human social cognition and interpersonal engagement. Further concerns such as data privacy, data misuse, data sovereignty, algorithmic bias, digital authoritarianism, and data governance highlight the growing tension between state power and digital power—pointing directly to the foundational principles at stake in building a just and equitable model of ubiquitous solidarity.

Shi Lirong and Zhai Yichen are from the School of Ethnology and Sociology at Minzu University of China.