The Return of Equality and Its Trap Existential Value Crisis and Civilizational Transition in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

This paper identifies the return of equality discourse as a structural response to the contraction of generativity (Φ) and the expansion of structural crystallization (S) in late machine civilization. It argues that AI does not merely disrupt labor markets but destabilizes the functional basis of human existential value. The study introduces a distinction between functional equality (S-rearrangement) and existential equality (Φ-grounding). It proposes that failure to recognize this distinction risks repeating historical cycles of hierarchy reproduction. The paper positions existential value as a necessary civilizational transition toward generative society. Highlights • Reinterprets the resurgence of equality discourse as a response to existential insecurity rather than distributive imbalance. • Introduces the concept of functional value collapse caused by AI substitution of human roles. • Explains why equality movements historically reproduce hierarchy through structural reconfiguration. • Proposes existential value as a post-functional foundation for human worth. • Positions AI as a catalyst for civilizational transition from Machine Civilization to Generative Civilization. Extended Abstract 1 – Problem setting The global resurgence of inequality debates reflects more than distributive tensions. This paper argues that contemporary equality discourse emerges from a deeper structural transformation associated with the contraction of generative opportunity and the expansion of structural stabilization in advanced technological societies. Artificial intelligence accelerates this transformation by challenging the modern assumption that human value is grounded in functional contribution. 2 – Theoretical reinterpretation This study proposes that equality should be understood not primarily as a distributive principle but as a response to existential insecurity produced by conditional recognition structures. Human societies have historically tied existential worth to functional participation, creating a dependence on comparative positioning. Equality movements can therefore be interpreted as attempts to mitigate existential risk rather than purely moral claims. 3 – Historical paradox The paper explains the recurring paradox in which equality movements generate new hierarchies. This occurs because equality has typically been pursued through structural redistribution rather than through a transformation of value foundations. As long as existential worth remains functionally mediated, new comparison frameworks inevitably emerge. 4 – AI as civilizational inflection point Artificial intelligence represents a unique inflection point because it reduces the exclusivity of human functional capabilities. This creates not only economic disruption but a crisis of value legitimacy. The paper argues that AI thus exposes the limits of function-based human valuation and makes visible the need for a new foundation of human worth. 5 – Civilizational transition The paper concludes that the future of equality depends on a transition from functional value to existential value. This transition involves a shift toward generativity, co-creation, lived experience, and relational resonance as primary dimensions of human worth. Such a shift represents not merely an ethical aspiration but a structural necessity within the evolving dynamics of technological civilization. Author’s Related Works Ohumi, K. (2025). 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