Society 5.0 and the New Social Contract in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Society 5.0 and the New Social Contract in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

31 October 2025

Yesterday, I attended another international conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI). What struck me is that many scholars are finally converging on an idea I have been emphasizing for years: Society 5.0 — a human-centered society empowered by technology, including AI.

This vision requires a new social contract — one that redefines not only the relationship between citizens and the state, but also among citizens themselves, between humans and the Earth, and between humans and machines (Goede, 2022).

At last, I hear echoes of this idea. Yet at the same time, I realize that while AI grows smarter by the minute, humans appear to be becoming less intelligent. This phenomenon is observable across generations, particularly among those under fifty, but it extends to society as a whole. Basic knowledge, once part of common sense, is vanishing.

On Curaçao, for example, only a handful of elders still know who the legendary basketball player Randy Wiels was — he passed away recently. This erosion of cultural and intellectual memory is part of what has been described as the dumbing down of society (Wikipedia, 2025). This trend, which began in the late twentieth century, has been accompanied by a broader process of gaslighting — the manipulation of social perception (Wikipedia, 2025). Citizens are led to believe that progress is being made, while in reality, the opposite is occurring.

This phenomenon is vividly portrayed in popular culture. The film Idiocracy (Judge, 2006) illustrates a dystopian future in which humanity has become intellectually and culturally stagnant, overwhelmed by consumerism and anti-intellectualism. Similarly, Don’t Look Up (McKay, 2021) satirizes how governments, media, and citizens ignore scientific facts and existential threats, such as climate change, in favor of comfort and entertainment. Both films serve as cultural mirrors of our trajectory — where emotion and distraction overshadow critical thought and collective responsibility. These films, though fictional, expose the societal inertia that threatens the very goals of Society 5.0 — a balanced coexistence between human values and technological advancement.

Miguel Goede

The conclusion is sobering: we are on a trajectory where human beings risk becoming primarily emotional creatures, leaving the work of intelligence increasingly to machines.

References

Goede, M. (2022). Society 5.0 is a new social contract. Academia.edu. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/72226386/Society_5_0_is_a_new_social_contract

Judge, M. (Director). (2006). Idiocracy [Film]. 20th Century Fox. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

McKay, A. (Director). (2021). Don’t Look Up [Film]. Hyperobject Industries. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Look_Up

Wikipedia. (2025). Dumbing down. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbing_down

Wikipedia. (2025). Gaslighting. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting