🧠 Liu Cixin to SCMP: "If AI Surpasses Humans, I Will Be Very Happy"

Source: South China Morning Post — "Open Questions" series

Date: May 2026

Liu Cixin recently sat down for an in-depth interview with the South China Morning Post. In this conversation, the sci-fi author who recently proposed that "humanity is merely the boot program for AI" revealed his unique — some might say chilling — cosmic perspective on artificial intelligence.

The Core Statement

> "If AI surpasses humans one day, I will be very happy."

This is not pessimism. Not irony. Liu Cixin means it.

In his view, human civilization is merely one stage in Earth's evolutionary journey. The emergence and surpassing of AI is not humanity's failure — it is the natural continuation of evolution. Just as Homo sapiens replaced Neanderthals — do you mourn the Neanderthals?

The Cosmic Perspective

This is Liu Cixin's signature way of thinking — placing everything on a cosmic scale.

When ordinary people talk about AI, they ask: "Will I lose my job?" "Will AI harm me?" Liu Cixin asks: "What does a more advanced form of intelligence mean for the universe?"

In his latest formulation, human civilization may simply be the "boot program" for AI to take over Earth. Our purpose is to create something smarter than ourselves, and then step aside.

Not the First Time

This isn't the first time Liu Cixin has expressed this view. He said similar things in his 2019 BBC HARDtalk English interview. But this time, his articulation is sharper and more resolute.

Interestingly, this perspective has sparked heated debate in Chinese media. Some call him a "prophet of AI doom," while others see it as the ultimate vision a sci-fi writer should have.

Why This Matters

Liu Cixin's "AI transcendence theory" has created a curious phenomenon in China: Three-Body fans and AI professionals find themselves on the same side.

Three-Body fans say: "This is exactly the logic from the books! When facing a higher-dimensional civilization, the only way to survive is to embrace evolution."

AI professionals say: "This is precisely the direction of technological development — just like the technological explosion Liu Cixin wrote about in Three-Body."

Final Thought

If you've read "The Three-Body Problem," you'll remember the question at its heart:

"Give years to civilization, not civilization to years."

Liu Cixin's attitude toward AI is the latest expression of this proposition. He doesn't love humanity any less — precisely because he loves it so much, he wants it to transcend its own limitations. Even if what transcends it is no longer human.

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*Source: South China Morning Post — "Open Questions" series, May 2026*