Social Transformation in the Age of AGI: From Tool to Meta-Institution

This paper develops a theoretical framework for understanding Artificial General Intelligence as a meta-institutional force rather than a technological instrument. The instrumentalist view—AGI as a powerful tool deployed within existing institutions—fails to capture the structural transformation underway. AGI does not merely augment human capacity; it reorganizes the very conditions under which judgment, coordination, and social order are produced.

The paper traces three transformations: (i) the migration of judgment authority from human institutions to algorithmic systems; (ii) the reconfiguration of coordination capacity, as collective action becomes mediated by AI infrastructures whose internal logic remains opaque to participants; and (iii) the displacement of the foundational rules of social reproduction, including the temporal and informational conditions under which economic life is organized.

By reframing AGI as a meta-institution, the paper connects technological transformation to the deeper concerns of institutional economics and political philosophy. The argument has direct implications for the governance of AI systems, the accountability of algorithmic decision-making, and the longer-term sustainability of human-machine social orders.

Read the full paper on SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6165207

【中文简介】

本文提出，人工通用智能（AGI）不应被理解为一种先进工具，而应被视为一种元制度——从根本上重构判断形成、协调能力和社会秩序基础规则的制度性力量。

工具主义视角无法捕捉当前正在发生的结构性变革。AGI 不仅仅是增强人类能力，它重组了判断、协调和社会秩序得以产生的根本条件。

本文追踪三种核心转变： （一）判断权威从人类制度向算法系统的迁移； （二）协调能力的重新配置； （三）社会再生产基础规则的替代。

完整版（英文）请见 SSRN： https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6165207

Recommended citation: Fei, Chunlu. (2026). "Social Transformation in the Age of AGI: From Tool to Meta-Institution." SSRN Working Paper. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6165207
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