Abstract:

Artificial intelligence is reopening the history Fukuyama once declared closed. Centering on a “Technology-Governance” Dual Curve framework, this paper examines the widening “legitimacy gap” between technology’s exponential rise and governance’s linear lag, arguing that bridging this gap holds the key to confronting today’s global crises. Three structural transformations emerge: ideological competition has migrated from the “ideas versus institutions” battleground to the “technology versus governance” arena; computing power, data, and intelligence have become the new “political surplus” reshaping national power; and individuals find themselves caught between two predicaments—Fukuyama’s “last man” and the algorithm-driven “predicted man.” These shifts have opened three critical gaps—in interpretation, in norms, and in order—that call urgently for a systematic response from the humanities, social sciences, and education. Drawing on Latour’s actor-network theory, the paper contends that education must shoulder a dual mission: fostering AI literacy for effective human-machine collaboration, while rebuilding humanistic literacy to equip citizens with the capacity to audit algorithms, challenge automated decisions, and participate in governance. Only by advancing both tracks in tandem can society cultivate the resilience to self-correct and rebuild the trust networks and legitimacy that a human-machine symbiotic era demands.

Key words: artificial intelligence, silicon-based economics, political surplus, technology-governance dual curve, AI literacy