Dual Reconfiguration of Education: How AI Reopens the “End of History” Through the Technology–Governance Dual Curve
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Purpose This article reexamines Fukuyama's “End of History” thesis, arguing that artificial intelligence (AI) has reopened ideological competition and created an unprecedented “legitimacy gap” between exponentially advancing technology and linearly evolving governance. Bridging this gap has become pivotal to addressing many of the global crises we confront today. Design/Approach/Methods The study employs a problem–analysis–solution structure: identifying the legitimacy gap via a “Technology – Governance Dual Curve” model, analyzing three singular transformations and three structural gaps, and proposing solutions through the dual return of humanities/social sciences and education as new-quality infrastructure for human–machine symbiotic societies. Findings The analysis identifies three AI-driven transformations: ideological resurgence, the reshaping of national capacity through compute, data, and intelligence as “political surplus,” and the recasting of individuals from the “last man” to the “predicted man.” Drawing on Latour's actor-network theory, the article proposes building trust networks through dual educational reconfiguration—cultivating AI literacy alongside civic literacy, enabling citizens to both collaborate with and govern intelligent systems. Originality/Value The article repositions education as the decisive mechanism for resolving the technology legitimacy crisis. Beyond novel frameworks such as “silicon-based economics” and “algorithmic constitutionalism,” it argues that dual-track educational reconfiguration is the only scalable pathway to rebuild trust networks for human–machine symbiotic governance.
Source: ECNU Review of Education
Author: Yilei Shao (邵怡蕾)
Institution: East China Normal University
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7129461904