During the recent 2024 China Science Fiction Convention, two leading figures in China's science fiction community, Liu Cixin and Wang Jinkang, engaged in a cross-time dialogue on the impact of AI on literary creation.

Faced with the rapid rise of generative AI, the two authors presented subtle yet profound differences in their views: one upholds the uniqueness of the human soul, while the other envisions a revolutionary change brought by technology.

Liu Cixin: AI Still Lacks a "Soul" and Cannot Replace Human Writers

Liu Cixin clearly stated in his speech that although AI performs remarkably in logical processing and material accumulation, it still cannot fully replace human writers. He believes that the core of literary creation lies in the understanding of life and the delicate capture of complex emotions, which AI lacks due to its absence of real-life experiences.

Nevertheless, he also issued a warning to his peers: writers should not become complacent and must always keep an eye on technological advancements. In his view, AI is currently just a "tool," but its evolution is extremely fast, and whether it will develop true creativity remains a big question.

Wang Jinkang: Science Fiction Creation Will Experience "Revolutionary Changes"

Compared to Liu Cixin's cautious attitude, Wang Jinkang's perspective is more radical. He openly stated that artificial intelligence will bring revolutionary changes to science fiction creation. Wang Jinkang believes that AI's powerful simulation capabilities highly align with the characteristics of science fiction literature, which pursues grand concepts and rigorous logic.

He foresees that future science fiction creation may evolve into a new model of "human-machine collaboration," where AI will help humans break through the boundaries of imagination and build more grand and precise fantasy worlds. This wave of technology will not lead to the extinction of literature, but instead may become a powerful aid in creating the next generation of classic science fiction works.