Modern Economics & Management Forum

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly reshaping systems of social governance, evolving from an auxiliary tool into a core component of contemporary governance architectures. AI’s capabilities in data processing, automation, and self-learning have significantly improved the efficiency of public administration and social services; meanwhile, they have also introduced challenges related to occupational restructuring, technical security, and ethical governance. This paper focuses on the structural impacts of occupational substitution and AI safety risks on social governance. Evidence suggests that AI not only replaces low-skilled jobs but is increasingly penetrating professional domains such as healthcare, law, accounting, and education, which may trigger large-scale structural unemployment and distributive pressures. In addition, the development of embodied intelligence raises concerns about algorithmic bias, system reliability, and value alignment, which become even more complex due to the irreversibility of technological adoption and fragmented global governance. To address these challenges, this paper proposes governance strategies including proactive workforce planning, reskilling and upskilling programs, algorithmic transparency, auditing mechanisms, and human-in-the-loop supervision for human–AI collaboration. This study provides theoretical and practical references for understanding the systemic effects of AI integration on social governance.