Maker Faire Shenzhen 2025, themed “AI and More Things” invites scholars, tech leaders, maker pioneers, and industry practitioners from all fields to join the grand event. As in previous years, we have curated and recruited numerous exciting satellite events to provide more networking opportunities for all attendees. Today, we introduce one of this year’s satellite events:
| Zhang Xiaoyu’s Book Signing for “The Prehistory of AI Civilization” Event Time: After the morning forum on November 15 (estimated 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM) Event Location: At the Forum Venue (Lecture Hall, Vanke Cloud City Design Commune ) Event Form: Book Signing |
In an era where AI continually reshapes our cognition and expands the frontiers of knowledge, how should we trace the passage of time—looking back at the past and forward to the future—to gain a profound understanding of the civilizational significance behind this technological wave? This question resonates with every thinker concerned with the relationship between human civilization and technology.
Zhang Xiaoyu, author of the “Civilization Trilogy” and an independent scholar, attempts to address this in his new book, The Prehistory of AI Civilization. This is not a guide on how to use AI tools, but rather a journey of ideas spanning from prehistory to the present. His focus lies not on what AI “can do,” but on why it emerged, how it came to be, and where it will lead us.
Aiming to promote business connections between professional visitors and exhibitors, Maker Faire Shenzhen 2025 has initiated a new registration channel for professional audiences, which can ensure more efficient exhibition output and provide a good exhibition experience.Aiming to promote business connections between professional visitors and exhibitors, Maker Faire Shenzhen 2025 has initiated a new registration channel for professional audiences, which can ensure more efficient exhibition output and provide a good exhibition experience.
“I titled this book The Prehistory of AI Civilization because I believe we are witnessing the dawn of an entirely new epoch in Earth’s civilization.” Zhang Xiaoyu’s perspective reflects both our present-day ambitions for AI to reshape human civilization and a retrospective view of our world from the standpoint of AI civilization itself. Tracing back to Socrates’ philosophical musings and revisiting the origins of artificial intelligence at Dartmouth, this work reveals how every footprint left by civilizational development points toward the birth of AI.
AI is not a technological singularity, but an inevitable turning point in the river of civilization. This perspective shifts our gaze from marveling at AI’s “magic” to introspection: how we create and comprehend “intelligence,” and how we find ourselves amidst technological leaps.
Time:
Following the morning session of the forum on November 15 (estimated 11:30–12:00)
Location:
At the forum venue (Lecture Hall, Vanke Cloud City Design Community)
Participation Process:
Attendees may purchase books on-site (limited quantities available, first-come-first-served) or bring their own copies for signing. Each participant will receive a handwritten signature by Zhang Xiaoyu and may opt for a photo opportunity. Following the signing session, interested readers may engage in free-flowing discussions with the author, posing questions and exploring topics related to the new book and forum themes.
50 VIP priority signing slots are available. Scan the QR code below to pre-purchase the book (¥79; please include your name in the payment notes). Collect your book at the check-in area before the event begins.
November 15-16, at Maker Faire Shenzhen 2025, join Zhang Xiaoyu on a journey through“prehistory” to witness the next step in the co-evolution of AI and humanity.
Visitor Register for MFSZ25
Exhibition Tips
November 15-16, Vanke Design Commune, Nanshan, Shenzhen
Parking Limited, eco-friendly transportation are highly recommended!
Take Metro Line 5 to Liuxiandong Station, exit via Exit A, walk straight, then turn left to arrive.
Nearby bus stops: Zhongxing Talent Apartments East and Vanke Cloud City.
Go green, save energy, and join us for a sustainable journey!
Over the past 12 years, the development trajectory of Maker Faire Shenzhen can be seen as a microcosm of the development of maker culture in China.
- 2012: “Gathering Small Wisdom, Journeying through the Great Future” – This was the first Mini Maker Faire in China, with less than 1000 attendees, and was more like a gathering within a small circle. But we saw the infinite possibilities emerging from the maker community.
- 2013: The slogan was absent, and the maker community was still small. – In the OCT Creative Park, there were cross-disciplinary exchanges among different creative communities, silently laying the foundation for cultural output.
- 2014: “Innovate with China” – the event was upgraded to the Featured level for the first time, with a significant increase in scale compared to previous years, and the beginning of professional independent forums. This year, makers began to enter the public’s view.
- 2015: “Everyone is a Maker, what are you waiting for?” – This year’s Shenzhen International Maker Week became one of the largest Maker Faires in the world. This year, the concept of “maker” was elevated to a national level, and the trend of “mass innovation, mass entrepreneurship” swept across the country.
- 2016: “My World, My Creation” – As the sub-venue of the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week, the event was held for the first time in the commercial center area, experiencing unpredictable weather from typhoons to scorching heat. Many makers succeeded in your entrepreneurial endeavors this year, but it seemed like there were even more failures. The hype around entrepreneurship shifted towards rationality.
- 2017: “Makers, Go Pro” – The event took place at the university campus for the first time, focusing on Maker Pros and providing a platform for diverse innovators and makers to showcase themselves, presenting more possibilities for the growth path of makers to the entire community.
- 2018: “Co-making in the City” – The main venue of Shenzhen International Maker Week, where individuals and groups with shared visions and values gathered to showcase stories, projects, and explorations of collaboration among different communities and people.
- 2019: ” To the Heart of Community, To the Cluster of Industry” – The event was upgraded to the Maker Faire Shenzhen, attempting to attract professional audiences and focusing on pragmatic aspects such as solving the needs of industrial upgrading and co-developin. It aims to build a platform for innovation and industry dialogue and collaboration.
- 2023: “Where Are The Makers?”– Starting from our own mission and values, we aim to explore the future direction of makers and the possibilities for commercialization. Though this question does not have a definitive answer, we do hope that through this event, we can communicate and share with every one of you, finding more ideas and directions together.
2024: “Everything is AI” – This year, we brought together over 120 exhibitors from around the world, attracting nearly 1,500 professional attendees from nearly 20 countries and over 20 provinces across China. The exhibition showcased a wide range of AI application projects and hosted 10 AI hardware-themed satellite events, alongside various workshops.
