Liu Cixin suggests AI may succeed biological humanity

Science fiction author Liu Cixin has proposed a provocative vision regarding the future of Earth's civilization, suggesting that artificial intelligence (AI) may eventually succeed biological humanity as the primary driver of progress.

In recent discussions, Liu argued that human biological limitations—both physical and intellectual—render it nearly impossible for the species to adapt to the harsh environments of deep space. He noted that millions of years of evolution have prepared humans for survival on a planet with 1G gravity, rather than the vast distances and extreme conditions of the cosmos.

Liu compared the role of humanity to a “boot program” used to start a massive supercomputer. In this analogy, humans serve as the initial code required to activate a more advanced system, which then carries the mission of civilization forward. He emphasized that this transition is not necessarily a pessimistic outcome, but rather a meaningful evolution of information that allows civilization to transcend physical decay and continue existing in new forms.