Structural differentiation and reconfiguration of social reproduction process in the age of artificial intelligence

The theory of the “four stages” of social reproduction emerged as a product of the First Industrial Revolution and will undergo innovative development alongside technological transformation. In the era of artificial intelligence, consumer demand has come to the fore as the driving force of social reproduction, historically shifting the logical framework from “production determining consumption” to “demand driving production”. It has also differentiated R&D planning and marketing from traditional processes, forming a demand-driven six-stage social reproduction process—encompassing R&D planning, marketing, production, distribution, logistics, and consumption—tailored to the digital intelligence era. This paper aims to reveal why and how artificial intelligence propels the innovative development of social reproduction theory, seeking to provide theoretical insights for constructing China’s autonomous knowledge system in economics.