For the public good

Real test of AI is whether it is producing tangible benefits that improve people's lives

Artificial intelligence has become the defining technology of our time. In just a few years, it has reshaped scientific research, expanded access to knowledge, transformed healthcare, changed the way companies operate and begun to redefine how cities function. Few innovations have generated as much optimism — and as much uncertainty. Teachers wonder how to prepare the next generation, workers question how AI will reshape jobs, and governments face the difficult task of balancing innovation with security, competitiveness and social inclusion.

Like every major technological revolution, AI will create new opportunities, demand new skills and challenge long-established institutions. Its long-term impact, however, will not depend on technology alone.

Today's global conversation still revolves around increasingly powerful models, advanced semiconductor chips and ever-growing computing capacity. These achievements matter. They fuel innovation and push the technological frontier forward. But they answer only part of a much larger question: How should we determine whether AI is actually making our societies better?

That question echoes one of the central themes raised at the World AI Conference, which was held in Shanghai from July 17 to 20. In his opening address, Chinese President Xi Jinping argued that "we should always guide AI development with human wisdom and international consensus, so that AI can truly become a mighty force that increases the well-being of humanity and advances human civilization". That observation points toward an even broader question that may define the next stage of global AI governance: How can AI's technological capability translate into human progress? With AI advancing at a staggering speed, we should ensure its development is for the positive, for good and for humanity.

For decades, nations have measured technological leadership through research spending, patents, industrial capacity and computing power. Those indicators remain valuable, but they no longer capture the full picture. AI should also be judged by its ability to improve education, expand access to healthcare, increase the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises, strengthen public services, reduce inequality and create new paths toward sustainable development.

In other words, the real success of AI depends not only on what the technology can accomplish, but on the tangible benefits it delivers to people's lives.

This shift in concept changes the nature of international competition itself. The 21st century may not be remembered simply as the era that produced increasingly intelligent machines. Instead, history may judge nations by their ability to convert technological innovation into broadly shared prosperity. Whether societies seek to address demographic aging or accelerate economic development, they ultimately face the same challenge: transforming technological capacity into human development.

China offers an important example in this respect — not merely because of its rapid technological advances, but because it has sought to integrate innovation into a broader long-term development strategy. Its concept of new quality productive forces links emerging technologies with higher productivity, industrial upgrading and responses to structural challenges such as population aging, the energy transition and improvements in public services.

Regardless of national models, this approach reflects a principle with universal relevance: Technology should never become an end in itself. Its ultimate purpose lies in improving people's lives.

This perspective also changes how we think about the future of work. Much of today's public debate focuses on the possibility that AI will eliminate millions of jobs. The concern deserves serious attention, but it often frames the problem too narrowly. No major technological revolution has preserved existing occupations unchanged. Throughout history, new technologies have replaced specific tasks, created entirely new professions and continuously reshaped the skills that societies value most.

The real challenge, therefore, is not simply protecting today's jobs. It is preparing people for roles where distinctly human capabilities become even more valuable.

Education therefore becomes the essential bridge between technological transformation and human development. Most educational systems emerged during the industrial era, when standardized knowledge and repetitive skills met the needs of mass production. AI demands something fundamentally different. Tomorrow's education must cultivate creativity, collaboration and the ability to ask meaningful questions rather than simply memorize answers.

UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of AI reinforces this principle by emphasizing the enduring role of educators. As intelligent systems become more capable of delivering information, schools must place even greater emphasis on developing independent judgment, civic responsibility and the uniquely human qualities that no algorithm can replicate.

In many respects, this transformation reconnects advanced technology with an ancient philosophical tradition. More than 2,000 years ago, Confucius argued that education should recognize the characteristics and potential of every individual learner. AI can help personalize learning, identify difficulties and support teachers with better insights. It should strengthen education — not replace educators.

AI also forces us to rethink the very meaning of infrastructure. During the 20th century, electricity, transportation networks and telecommunications formed the backbone of economic development. In the decades ahead, computing capacity, digital connectivity and broad access to AI may play an equally fundamental role.

China's "East Data, West Computing" initiative illustrates this broader transition. Beyond its national objectives, the project highlights an important principle: expanding digital infrastructure lowers barriers for universities, research institutions, local governments and small businesses. In the AI era, access to computational resources increasingly becomes a driver of opportunity rather than merely a technical asset.

This lesson carries particular importance for the Global South. Many developing economies do not need to lead the race to build the world's largest foundation models. Their greatest opportunity may lie in applying AI to agriculture, healthcare, education, public administration and the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises. Used wisely, AI can help countries overcome structural constraints far more rapidly than previous technological revolutions allowed.

At the same time, no country can address the challenges of AI alone. Security, transparency, data governance, interoperability and responsible innovation require international cooperation. Governments, businesses, universities, international organizations and civil society all have a role to play in building governance frameworks capable of evolving as rapidly as the technology itself.

Yet one fundamental question remains unanswered.

For decades, we measured technological progress primarily through economic output, productivity gains and scientific breakthroughs. AI requires another benchmark — one that captures its broader contribution to society.

Social returns reflect the extent to which AI expands educational opportunities, improves healthcare, strengthens public institutions, increases productivity, reduces inequality and creates new opportunities for individuals and communities. If benefiting humanity represents the ultimate purpose of AI, then social returns provide a practical way to assess whether that purpose is becoming reality.

This may become one of the defining indicators of societal maturity in the AI age.

Throughout history, humanity measured progress first through physical strength, then through industrial capacity and more recently through computing power. The next stage of human development may depend on a different measure altogether — not just how intelligent our machines become, but how wisely we use that intelligence to expand opportunity, strengthen institutions and improve people's lives.

When future generations look back on this technological revolution, they may not ask which countries built the most sophisticated algorithms. They will ask a far more meaningful question: Which societies transformed AI into lasting human progress?

History will certainly remember those who built remarkable machines. It will remember even more clearly those who used them to build a better future for humanity.

The author is the director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.