Can AI imagine the future, or only remix the past? 

In this interview, CGTN's Zhu Siying used AI technology to visualize a world imagined by Stanley Qiufan Chen, an award-winning science fiction writer who wrote Waste Tide, and co-authored AI 2041 with Kai-Fu Lee. 

Chen envisions a future Shanghai where brain-computer interfaces, drones and artificial intelligence reshape everyday life. He reflects on both the promise and the limits of the technology, and on why literature still depends on the full depth of human experience. He says the world needs AI governance on the same scale as the technology itself – pluralistic, anticipatory and humble.