Fangtang Forum

What makes knowledge produced by artificial intelligence trustworthy? If AI takes on more and more of our work, where will we find a sense of worth and meaning? The Fangtang Forum addresses questions such as these about how we understand the world and live within it. Taking new questions raised by AI as its starting point, it explores the interplay of science, technology, and civilization.

Understanding technological change and asking what it means are at the heart of humanistic inquiry grounded in science. The Forum takes the latest scientific developments as a foundation for research in the humanities and social sciences, encouraging dialogue across philosophy, religion, history, art, psychology, the history of science, and the social sciences. Its concerns extend from technological transformations as they unfold to the questions they raise about knowledge, ethics, and the human condition.

Different disciplines bring their own concepts and experience to the same question. Dialogue about artificial intelligence calls for a clear understanding of the facts under discussion, careful examination of concepts such as intelligence, consciousness, and understanding, and reflection on the limits of established knowledge and ways of thinking. Through this exchange, the Forum seeks to bring real questions at the frontiers of research into deeper humanistic inquiry, exploring fundamental issues within particular changes and advancing theoretical understanding.

The inaugural Forum in 2025 took as its theme “The Future of Science, Technology, and Civilization: The Ethical Singularity in the AI Age,” examining the relationship between humans and AI and its ethical implications. The 2026 Forum, themed “AI’s Next Step: Philosophical Answers to Key Questions,” explored how people might find meaning and a place in a post-work world, the epistemological questions arising from AI’s participation in knowledge production, and the implications of human–AI collaboration for humanities scholarship. Each edition offers its own starting points for thinking about the relationship between artificial intelligence and human life.

The Forum combines keynote speeches with thematic discussions. Keynotes present and share scholarly perspectives, while thematic discussions offer scholars from China and abroad opportunities for sustained exchange. The Forum seeks to cultivate a candid atmosphere of trust, where participants can articulate their views fully and listen closely to others, clarifying disagreements and deepening understanding through questions and responses. A conversation also has value when it brings unresolved questions into view and gives them room for further thought.

The Forum takes place once a year, with its preparatory council determining each edition’s theme and chair. Between annual gatherings, the council holds regular seminars to follow emerging ethical questions and research needs in artificial intelligence, developing topics and research connections for the next edition.

Explore past editions through their themes, talks, and dialogues, and consult the proceedings and conference materials. Follow how questions are posed and arguments developed, and form your own understanding as you encounter different perspectives.