AI as a spear, Blockchain as a shield: The balance of future productivity and production relations

The rapid development of AI technologies such as ChatGPT has shown us the potential for artificial intelligence to trigger the fifth technological revolution. AI is expected to replace most "manual labor type intellectual" jobs, becoming an efficiency assistant for "creative intellectual" and "practical physical" work. This will free up a large amount of human resources to be invested in other scientific fields, driving upgrades across various domains from quantitative changes to qualitative changes.

However, powerful AI productivity also requires corresponding production relationships to constrain and guide it. Blockchain technology can play an important role in this regard:

1. The decentralized distributed ledger of Blockchain can ensure openness and transparency, preventing opaque operations.

2. Smart contracts provide an automated execution contract system that ensures strict adherence to the rules.

3. The DAO governance model provides new ideas for organizational management in the AI era for human participation.

Interestingly, AI and blockchain technology started almost simultaneously - in 2007, Hinton published a deep learning paper, and in 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin white paper. This seems to suggest that the two will complement each other in the future - AI is responsible for enhancing productivity, while blockchain is responsible for building suitable production relationships.

The Development Trajectory of Eastern and Western Civilizations

Looking back at history, Eastern and Western civilizations exhibited interesting synchrony during certain critical periods:

• Around 800 BC, the ancient Greek city-state civilization and the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Spring and Autumn period in China emerged simultaneously.

• Around 400 BC, the two marginal small countries of Macedonia and the Qin state began to rise.

• Around 100 BC, Emperor Wu of Han and Caesar respectively began the imperial era of China and Rome.

• Around the year 600 AD, China entered the unified Sui and Tang dynasties, while Western Europe fell into the fragmented Middle Ages.

The year 1492 became a watershed - China began its policy of isolation, while the West moved towards the Age of Exploration. This led to starkly different development paths for the East and West over the next 500 years.

Today, the world is entering a new stage of diversified development. The rapid advancement of technologies such as AI brings new productive forces to human society, but it is also accompanied by geopolitical uncertainties. We need to seek a balance between technological progress and social stability, and build production relations that are adapted to the future.

The wheels of history roll forward, and the development of human society has never ceased. Whether it is a technological revolution or a social change, we need to use our wisdom to grasp and guide it. By drawing on historical experiences and looking ahead to future scenarios, we may be able to point out the direction for our progress.