人类历史上驯化野狼为猎犬曾赋予智人超越尼安德特人的感知与作战优势，成为征服世界的关键；如今人工智能的乐观叙事同样寄望其成为增强人类劳动的忠诚伙伴，但AI呈指数级的自我迭代速度远非生物繁育可比。哈佛大学历史学家吉尔·莱波尔（Jill Lepore）在《人造国家的兴衰》中对科技巨头提出了严厉批判。她指出，科技寡头正试图建立由企业掌控的人工智能统治秩序，其关于AI替代国家元首、人类沦为超级机器的“拉布拉多宠物”以及亿万富翁各自构想逃往火星、元宇宙或上传云端的狂想，正将人类文明推向反乌托邦与生态破坏的深渊。
诺贝尔经济学奖得主达隆·阿西莫格鲁（Daron Acemoglu）在《自由民主怎么了？》中则从制度与技术互动视角剖析危机。他指出，早期的数字化浪潮已极大地加剧了阶层鸿沟，不仅拉大了脑力与体力劳动的收入差距，过去20年间美国人与朋友面对面相处的时间更骤降了三分之二，助长了民粹主义撕裂。面对AI可能引发的大规模失业与阶级断层，阿西莫格鲁呼吁推行“亲劳工型AI”，即通过AI赋能电工排障或协助教师开展分层定制教学，使算法扮演提升人类技能溢价的辅助工具，而非替代劳动的工具。
尽管两部著作均未能为技术演进的具体规制路径提供明确解法，但民意与地缘政治正形成剧烈反差。民调显示，对AI长期社会影响持悲观态度的美国人数量是对乐观者的两倍，且仅有2%的民众认为AI发展“过于迟缓”。然而，在中美大国战略竞争的严峻格局下，任何一方都绝不愿在超级人工智能的竞逐中落后而沦为失去“猎犬”庇护的史前淘汰者，地缘政治的零和博弈注定将驱使大国加速将这头崭新的“机械野狼”引入人类文明的核心地带。
Just as domesticating wolves into dogs provided Homo sapiens with the sensory edge to outcompete Neanderthals, optimists envision artificial intelligence as a faithful tool complementing human labor; yet AI's self-accelerating evolution vastly outpaces biological breeding. In "The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State", Harvard historian Jill Lepore criticizes tech oligarchs for seeking corporate dominance where machines govern human society. Citing rhetoric that imagines AI heads of state, humans reduced to "pet labradors", and billionaires planning escapes to Mars, the metaverse, or cloud servers, she warns of an impending erosion of democracy and ecological stability.
In "What Happened to Liberal Democracy?", Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu examines the societal fallout of technological disruption. Digital automation has already deepened inequality by prioritizing cognitive skills over manual labor, while in-person socialization among American friends plummeted by two-thirds over the past 20 years, fueling toxic polarization and political backlash. Fearing widespread displacement and democratic collapse, Mr Acemoglu proposes "pro-worker AI" systems designed to amplify human expertise—such as assisting electricians with grid diagnostics or aiding educators with customized classroom instruction—thereby boosting the economic value of human labor.
While neither book provides a definitive roadmap for governing AI's unpredictable trajectory, public apprehension sharply contrasts with geopolitical imperatives. Twice as many Americans express pessimism regarding AI's societal impact as optimism, and merely 2% believe its capabilities are advancing "too slowly". Nevertheless, escalating rivalry between America and China guarantees rapid deployment, as neither superpower can afford to fall behind in developing superintelligent technology, ensuring this powerful new force will be fully integrated into modern society.
Source: What AI has in common with dogs
Subtitle: Two new books ponder whether the technology will be tame or savage
Dateline: 8月 20, 2026 05:59 上午