On June 23, 2025, the inaugural Tsinghua Fangtang International Forum was held at Tsinghua University. Under the theme “The Future of Science, Technology, and Civilization: The Ethical Singularity in the AI Age,” scholars discussed AI safety and governance, the ethics of artificial intelligence, and evolving human-machine relations.
The Forum brought together keynote talks, thematic sessions, and roundtable conversations. Its sessions considered the metaphors, analogies, and reshaping of human-AI relations; machine consciousness, morality, and risk; and how people might find their place on the eve of the singularity.
Discussions and talks
When Machines Begin to Think: A Preview of Fangtang Forum Questions
The 2025 Fangtang Forum considered human flourishing, the guidance and control of AI, and changing social structures.
Seven Fundamental Questions for the Age of AI
Fangtang Forum set out seven interconnected questions, from defining general AI to changes in social structure and political-economic order.
Face Technology with Humility, Safeguard the Humanities with Reverence, and Define the Future with Initiative
Opening address at the inaugural Fangtang Forum in 2025.
PDF AI and the Concept of the Future
赵汀阳's contribution to the 2025 Fangtang Forum, from pages 44-46 of the Chinese proceedings.
PDF Three Key Steps Toward an Ethical Singularity
Atoosa Kasirzadeh's contribution to the 2025 Fangtang Forum, from pages 33-38 of the Chinese proceedings.
PDF The Foundations of Human Flourishing and Existence in the Age of AI
Shimon Edelman's contribution to the 2025 Fangtang Forum, from pages 53-58 of the Chinese proceedings.
PDF Imagining Human-Machine Relations Through Science Fiction
陈楸帆's contribution to the 2025 Fangtang Forum, from pages 39-43 of the Chinese proceedings.
PDF How Should We Live Before the Singularity?
宝树's contribution to the 2025 Fangtang Forum, from pages 106-112 of the Chinese proceedings.
PDF Humanity and AI Through a Solarpunk Lens
Francesco Verso's contribution to the 2025 Fangtang Forum, from pages 102-105 of the Chinese proceedings.
PDF The Scope and Methods of Universal AI Ethics
Vincent C. Müller's contribution to the 2025 Fangtang Forum, from pages 8-14 of the Chinese proceedings.
AI Ethics and the Ethics of Human Survival
Zhao Dingxin considers artificial intelligence through the ethics of human survival, including its effects on social structure, work, and self-realization.
The Ethics and Limits of Thought in Artificial Intelligence
Zhao Tingyang examines AI subjectivity, alignment, and the limits of machine thought.
The Cogito Test: A Proposed Refinement of the Turing Test
Zhang Weite proposes a Cogito Test, inspired by Descartes, to refine the Turing Test and reconsider the epistemic threshold of artificial intelligence.
A Confucian Examination of the Ethical Boundaries of Companion Robots
Wang Jue considers companion robots, vulnerability, and interpersonal relations from a Confucian perspective.
Reframing the Future: Anticipation and Responsibility
Sun Zhouxing considers anticipation, responsibility, and civilizational transformation amid accelerating technology.
Superalignment for Human-AI Symbiosis
Zeng Yi proposes superalignment as a framework for a future of human-AI symbiosis.
Forum record
Further reading
Downloads
PDF 2025 Fangtang Forum Handbook
Original bilingual handbook for the inaugural Tsinghua Fangtang International Forum.
PDF 2025 Fangtang Forum Proceedings (Chinese)
Original Chinese-language proceedings of the inaugural Tsinghua Fangtang International Forum.
PDF 2025 Fangtang Forum Schedule
Original English-language schedule for the inaugural Tsinghua Fangtang International Forum.