“After AI takes over human jobs, how will people find meaning in existence?
I. The rise of AI and the material utopia. In 2122, a breakthrough in AI computing power gives rise to the “Ultimate AI,” which rapidly replaces all human jobs. Scientific research is automated, leading to practical nuclear fusion and unlimited energy. AI precisely distributes society’s resources, making supplies limitless. Humanity enters the “Age of Great Pleasure”: money disappears, and problems like poverty, hunger, and disease are eliminated. “Working to survive” becomes a thing of the past, and “Human Liberation Day” marks the start of a new stage of civilization.
II. The emptiness after pleasure: from the “Age of Great Pleasure” to the “Age of Great Seeking.” In the Age of Great Pleasure, humanity spends decades letting loose and relieving stress: catching up on sleep, watching every film in cinema history, traveling the world, and partying all night. Families and friends reunite, and social atomization gives way to renewed connection. But “endless fulfillment” breeds boredom. Entertainment cannot bring eternal happiness, and society awakens to this truth. In the Age of Great Seeking, once survival needs are met, “finding meaning in life” becomes the ultimate question. Some return to art, some devote themselves to research, and others immerse themselves in hobbies. As social structures dissolve national borders, people reorganize into “communities of shared interests,” such as vinyl record leagues and historical reenactment societies. Humanity moves closer to “a world of great unity.”
Neptune and his team members, the “Creators,” manage a small island. Through black-market channels, they collect a range of genes, including those of beautiful women, handsome men, athletic champions, highly intelligent people, artists, and models. They combine and modify the genes to create a perfect population, including Homo sapiens, beauties, and athletes. They make their fortune by selling and displaying them, and bring Neptune’s lover, Liang Lu, back to life.
