设计智能体的乡村嵌入及其伦理审视
The Embedness of AI Agents in Rural Design: Pathways and Ethical Considerations

PRESENTATION

Abstract  Against the backdrop of digital transformation in rural China, the integration of artificial intelligence and design innovation has given rise to the emergence of “design agents.” This study explores their pathways of rural embeddedness and associated ethical issues. Design agents must undergo a transition from external technological systems—conceptualized as “intervention”—to becoming endogenous to social networks, termed “embeddedness.” This process relies on dual mechanisms of “structural embeddedness” and “relational embeddedness.” The paper further examines the specific enabling pathways of these agents across three levels of rural engagement: private affairs, deliberative processes, and public decision-making. These agents function as knowledge intermediaries reshaping individual decision-making autonomy, technical mediators facilitating real-time feedback and communication, and negotiatory intermediaries reconciling policy uniformity with local diversity. Concurrently, the process of technological empowerment presents ethical challenges, including issues of algorithmic empowerment and subjectivity, equity in technological inclusivity, ambiguity in accountability, and risks related to cultural adaptation. It is argued that the responsible development of such technologies depends on the establishment of nuanced ethical governance and institutional safeguards tailored to their specific contexts.