Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 4, 2025

Reconfiguring Global Power in the Age of Artificial General Intelligence

(Abstract)

Yu Nanping

Breakthroughs in generative AI, particularly the rise of low-cost, localized, and vertically deployed open-source models, signal the advent of the artificial general intelligence (AGI) era. Unlike previous technologies, AGI is poised to achieve true technological self-generation through autonomous learning, catalyzing profound transformations in both global productivity and production relations. Owing to its high degree of generality and capacity for cross-domain integration, AGI is expected to reshape international power structures across multiple dimensions and alter the traditional patterns of interdependence among states. Its steep technical barriers may further intensify global power asymmetries, giving rise to new forms of geopolitical polarization. Although AGI’s technological boundaries remain undefined, the competition between open-source and closed-source AI ecosystems is likely to persist throughout its evolution due to its strong cross-domain integration capacity. At the same time, the complexity and uncertainty inherent in AGI will act as a driving force behind structural shifts in global power and may ultimately usher in a “great transformation” in international relations.