The SMC Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, China’s first dedicated incubator for the research and development of foundation models Photo: IC PHOTO

The ongoing fourth technological revolution, driven by artificial intelligence (AI), is reshaping the traditional foundations of philosophy. On one hand, technological advances are challenging philosophy at its roots, prompting a revival of the spirit of “inquiring into the Way.” On the other, these advances call for the construction of a new philosophical paradigm suited to technological development—technological innovation cannot advance indefinitely across a philosophical vacuum. The mutual grounding and co-evolution of technology and philosophy not only consolidate the empirical foundation for philosophy’s practical turn, but also introduce a humanistic dimension into technological innovation, installing a value framework for a new phase of civilizational transformation. Only in this way can humanity move beyond the methodological constraints of binary thinking and rewrite the equation that defines what it means to be human.

Challenge of technology to philosophy

In the modern era, science and technology gradually separated from the matrix of philosophy, moving into the center of economic and social development and driving the transition from agrarian to industrial civilization. While technological advances have continually reshaped human life and production, philosophy—particularly after the rise of positivism and the linguistic turn in the early 20th century—has increasingly distanced itself from the lifeworld, becoming an abstract exercise in reasoning, even a form of “language game.” In the 21st century, however, as the intelligent revolution begins to touch the value foundations and bodily boundaries of human existence, technological innovation has itself become both the catalyst and experimental ground for a new philosophical revolution. While destabilizing traditional philosophical categories, it compels contemporary philosophers to construct new paradigms that integrate technological advances.

Since the advent of the industrial era, mechanistic materialism associated with Newton and Descartes, together with Bentham’s utilitarian ethics, have served as philosophical foundations for technological innovation. Technological progress was often understood as the material expression of these philosophical ideas. The machines created in the age of AI, however, are dissolving previously assumed cognitive boundaries and, in turn, reshaping the human soul. Under the illusion of free choice created by intelligent technologies, humanity risks being reduced from ends to means, and from agents to colonized objects.

Emerging technologies challenge contemporary philosophy at the very core of how humans understand existence, the self, and civilization. Under these pressures, traditional ethical frameworks that treat humans as the sole moral subjects must be reconsidered, with concepts such as rights, responsibility, and dignity redefined at the level of moral community. Such reconstruction can guide technological development in beneficial directions while providing a new ethical framework for safeguarding human civilization. This shift is not merely theoretical; it redefines modes of human existence, value judgment, and moral cognition. Yet providing these definitions requires confronting fundamental ontological and epistemological issues: What is the human? How can the good be known?

The rapid development of emerging technologies constitutes perhaps the most profound humanistic experiment in the history of civilization. It entails both an integrated cognitive revolution and a reshaping of values, transforming conceptions of theory, reality, probability, causality, the body, life, and civilization. What is being disrupted, therefore, is not merely traditional philosophical ideas but the ontological foundations of human existence itself—the intrinsic unity of biological and rational dimensions that constitutes what it means to be human. Paradoxically, this comprehensive transformation reveals that the contemporary technological revolution is not dissolving philosophy or ending the humanities. Instead, it advances a more incisive probe into ontology, returning fundamental questions about human nature and the future of civilization to the center of intellectual inquiry, and thereby creating new opportunities for philosophical renewal at a civilizational crossroads.

Intelligence revolution requires philosophical foundations

When emerging technologies become legislators of existence, setters of agendas, and arbiters of cognition, philosophy must move beyond passive adaptation. It must intervene proactively, embedding value reflection into the foundational layers of technological design and reclaiming discursive authority in shaping civilization. In this way, concern over the challenges posed by emerging technologies can be transformed into a philosophical manifesto that engages with technological development, restoring a concrete basis for reflection on justice, meaning, and the good.

Without philosophical calibration, technological progress may win isolated battles while risking the loss of the broader war of civilization. Like a high-performance vehicle without brakes, the faster it moves, the greater the risk of irreversible damage. In this new phase of civilizational transformation, philosophy should no longer serve as a post-hoc digestif after the technological feast, but as a form of anticipatory guidance. Embedding philosophical foundations into technological innovation effectively installs a value framework for a new phase of civilization. This allows humanity to enjoy the liberation and convenience brought about by technology while avoiding domination by technological logic and the gradual erosion of human cognition by autonomous systems. The future may favor not the fastest technologies, but the most stable civilizations. Like a kite rising freely into the sky, technology can remain aloft only within a value domain woven by philosophy. The more disruptive a technological revolution is, the more it must anchor itself in the fundamental coordinates of humanity or root itself in a wisdom that safeguards human existence, lest it collapse into ethical ruins. In this sense, the co-renewal or paradigm revolution of technology and philosophy represents not incremental adjustment or the repair of existing paradigms, but a mutual reconstruction grounded in reciprocal vigilance.

Contemporary philosophers urgently need to step out of their academic sanctuaries and move to the frontlines of technology. They must seek remedies in laboratories and voice the most authentic concerns of humanity at the extremes of technological development. They must also descend from the pedestal of metaphysics, shifting from abstract conceptual deduction and solitary reflection toward crisis response and coordinated action, and rediscover the meaning of life and the foundations of human nature. They must translate abstract philosophical arguments into actionable technical protocols and elevate critical thinking into an effective tool against cognitive alienation. They must forge ethical rivets for technological innovation, creating shelters within technological systems that protect civilization. At the same time, scientists and engineers must actively cultivate philosophical literacy, equipping laboratories with intellectual tourniquets and value-based sutures, embedding humanistic genes at the embryonic stage of technological development, shedding the burden of passive ethical responsibility, and fostering a collective ethical consciousness with social commitment through dynamic interdisciplinary dialogue.

This comprehensive practical turn in contemporary philosophy does not diminish philosophy itself; rather, it strengthens its empirical grounding. Philosophy no longer stands as the “queen” of the sciences, as in ancient Greece, nor as their “servant,” as in the 20th century. Instead, it seeks to participate in and intervene within the primary arena of technological research and development, jointly writing the underlying code of civilizational advancement and ushering in a new epoch for philosophical development. Likewise, contemporary technological development must actively draw nourishment from the soil of philosophy, allowing reflection on the nature of the good and concern for humanity to become cultural genes within laboratories. The proactive embrace of philosophy by scientists and engineers is not a self-imposed constraint, but an expression of responsibility in confronting moral paradoxes and cognitive dilemmas. In a period of civilizational transformation shaped by diverse cultural contributions—and as technological innovators may find themselves in the midst of an “Oppenheimer dilemma”—such engagement is essential for strengthening the foundations of trust in an intelligent society.

Co-performance between technology and philosophy

Science explains the world, philosophy gives it meaning; technology transforms the world, but cannot safeguard human values. Efficiency may generate wealth, but wisdom alone can sustain well-being. Material abundance may bring temporary satisfaction, yet cannot address deeper existential concerns. Introducing a humanistic dimension into the science–technology–society nexus is a response to the call for self-redemption of the current technological revolution. Reconstructing philosophical paradigms requires integrated reflection across ethics, ontology, and epistemology.

The bidirectional interaction, or co-performance, between technological practice and philosophical inquiry is transforming their relationship from a one-way flow of knowledge—or a “technology impact–philosophical response” model—into a two-way process of “co-evolution” or “synergistic development,” forming a mutually reinforcing, spiral-like chain of cognition. The ultimate mission of the joint renewal of technology and philosophy is not to worship the deity of technology, but to recover a sense of reverence for the future of human civilization.

Science and philosophy share a common origin; they are two indispensable and mutually reinforcing dimensions of human cognition, both embodying a continuous spirit of “inquiring into the Way.” Science investigates the laws governing nature, society, and life; technology explores methods for transforming nature and solving problems; philosophy reflects on the essence of the world, the sources of knowledge, and the meaning of life. Having diverged in the modern era, science and philosophy are now converging again in the age of AI. As humanity enters an era increasingly redefined by technology, philosophy—the ancient love of wisdom—may again serve as an ark helping humanity avoid being engulfed by the technological tide. The greater the power technology grants humanity to transform the world, the more essential philosophical reflection becomes. Such reflection reminds us that, in pursuing intelligence, we must not forget wisdom; in expanding capability, we must not abandon reflection; in conquering the future, we must not lose ourselves. The advent of the age of AI is therefore not a unilateral triumph of emerging technologies, but a process of mutual movement and co-renewal between technology and philosophy. Technology pushes ancient philosophical questions from speculative realms into the forefront of reality, compelling unprecedented reflection, while philosophy, in turn, infuses technological innovation with value and meaning. From convergence to separation and back to conscious reintegration, the relationship between technology and philosophy reflects the full spectrum of human wisdom in responding to epochal change—encompassing both the power to transform the world and the insight to understand it.

Cheng Sumei is a research fellow from the Institute of Philosophy at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. This article has been edited and excerpted from the Journal of Northeastern University (Social Science), Issue 5, 2025.