Craftsmanship and Alienation: Reconstructing Labor Subjectivity from a Marxist Humanist Perspective in the Age of AI

Abstract

Against the backdrop of rapidly developing industrialization and digitalization, the relationship between the meaning of labor and human subjectivity has once again become a focal point of social concern. Using Marx's theory of "labor alienation" as its core analytical framework, this article examines the manifestations and mechanisms of the "alienation---de-alienation---re-alienation" cycle between industrial production and traditional handicrafts, drawing on four case studies: smartphone manufacturing, Jingdezhen porcelain, Suzhou embroidery, and Zhangqiu iron woks. Employing qualitative comparative analysis, the study, through textual analysis and literature review, reveals the tensions between people, labor, and creativity across different forms of labor. The findings suggest that industrialized production, centered on efficiency and the logic of capital, leads to the comprehensive alienation of workers at the levels of product, process, self, and social relations. On the other hand, handicrafts, through control over the entire production process and emotional engagement, achieve a certain degree of restoration of human subjectivity. However, marketization and technological intervention may also trigger new forms of "re-alienation," particularly in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), where algorithmic production poses a potential risk of "creation without human touch." This article points out that in the future we should advocate "using technology to counter alienation" through digital intangible cultural heritage education, virtual exhibitions and cultural innovation.