Panel 5: Rethinking Desirable AI from China: Philosophy, Discourse, Trust, and Sustainable Futures.

By Zhang Shuangli (Fudan University), Daniel Sarafinas (East China Normal University), Song Fei (University of Singapore), and Yan Junchi (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

This panel examines how the idea of “Desirable AI” is being philosophically reconstructed, politically articulated, and practically advanced in contemporary China. Bringing together scholars’ work on the renewal of Marxist philosophy of technology, the discursive construction of AI in Chinese intellectual and policy debates, the development of trustworthy AI frameworks, and the rapid expansion of AI research and education, the panel traces AI not merely as a technical system but as a normative and ideological project.

The first paper explores efforts to reconstruct Marxist philosophy in light of AI, asking how technological development can be aligned with socialist commitments to justice and collective flourishing. The second investigates AI as a discursive object in China, analyzing the narratives, hopes, and anxieties that shape its public meaning. The third addresses the emerging framework of trustworthy AI and the cultivation of human–AI trust, highlighting both institutional progress and unresolved ethical tensions. The fourth offers a panoramic view of AI’s research and educational expansion, situating China’s technological acceleration within broader social ambitions.

Together, these contributions illuminate how AI in China is being framed not simply as innovation, but as a moral, political, and civilizational undertaking. The panel thus offers a distinctive perspective on how “desirable AI” is conceptualized and pursued in a context where philosophical reconstruction, governance, and technological development are deeply intertwined.