Introduction

From at least as early as the Warring States Period (475–221 BCE) Chinese philosophy has been concerned with the question of machines. The great intellectual flourishing of ‘a hundred schools of thought’ during this period coincided with widespread social and technological change. Descriptions of imaginary self-driving carriages, clever mechanical birds sent out to spy on enemies, and other fantastical contraptions provoked worries about destruction beyond human control in an epoch already marred by war. Early Confucian and Daoist thinkers vigorously debated the nature of artifice. Is following and imitating nature the only right path? What is the role of creative innovation? Are technological developments inherently disruptive to the maintenance of social relations and the work of retaining a harmonious relationship between human beings and the cosmic order? Or might the ever-changing Dao (道), or Way, be entirely consistent with the evolution of machines Attitudes to technology dating from this pre-modern period range widely and, despite their remoteness in time, mirror recurrent concerns found, for example, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. Today, they resonate acutely with the concerns of the present, as artificial intelligence reaches a critical juncture, moving out of the laboratory and into the fabric of everyday life.

Inside and outside of China, two major questions return cyclically, as if proper to any period of technological upheaval. First, what is a machine? Is it part of cosmic logic and the way of nature, or does it stand outside of them? Does it belong among the ‘ten thousand things’ of the Zhuangzi that all share in the Dao, or is it an artificial abomination, a fundamental discontinuity or rupture in the cosmic continuity linking heavens, earth, and humans—tiandiren (天地人)? Second, is there a capacity for decision or an agency proper to a machine? Is a machine simply a tool for humans to use, or does it have its own way of acting that is irreducible to human designs? Can it be tamed, or is it inherently threatening to human civilisation? Does technology necessarily reflect human goals, or does it channel a purpose beyond human dominion? Is there a machinic will that does not simply follow the will of its user? Is technology under our control or, alternatively, are we controlled by our technologies?