🧠 Liu Cixin: DeepSeek Could Completely Replace Sci-Fi Writers — "Stop Self-Soothing, Face the Impact"

🤯 Liu Cixin on AI: It's Coming for Sci-Fi Writers

In a March 2026 interview with CCTV Finance, Liu Cixin was asked a blunt question: Can DeepSeek replace sci-fi writers in the future?

His answer shocked many — not denial, but honest affirmation.

> "Not for now, but in 10 to 20 years, theoretically speaking, it is entirely possible for AI to replace sci-fi novelists."

He elaborated: "From a scientific perspective, there is nothing about human writers that cannot be replaced by AI."

🛑 "Stop Self-Soothing"

When asked how to respond to the AI challenge, Liu's answer cut to the core:

> "Personally, I think we should first stop self-soothing, and face the technological impact and the earth-shattering changes it will bring to our field."

He urged creators to abandon comfort concepts like "soul" and "emotion," advocating for a direct confrontation with the fundamental changes brought by technological revolution.

💡 What This Means for Three-Body Fans

For the Three-Body fan community, this isn't just Liu Cixin's personal opinion — it's a philosophical question at the core of sci-fi: If AI can write better sci-fi than humans, does the meaning of science fiction change? In the Three-Body universe, "Give civilization time, not time civilization" — does AI count as civilization?

Liu Cixin's words remind us that the most sci-fi thing about our era is that sci-fi writers are now discussing their own obsolescence as if it were just another plot point.