With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology, the modes of production, social interactions, and knowledge systems in human society are undergoing profound transformations. AI is not only changing the way humans work and live but is also posing new challenges to the research paradigms of the social sciences, particularly anthropology. As a discipline centered on ethnographic fieldwork, anthropology is expanding its focus from studying "humans" to studying "human–AI relations" in order to understand the reproduction of culture and society under technological intervention. Looking ahead, AI technology is also driving anthropology to evolve from a "scholarship of observation" toward a "scholarship of human–AI interaction," prompting scholars to reshape the discipline’s understanding of humanity and culture at the intersection of technological rationality and humanistic reflection.

Zijie Luo. AI-Rewritten Academic Practices: The Future Direction of Anthropological Research. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2026), Vol. 9, Issue 3: 66-71. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2026.090310.

[1] Chen Siyu, Tian Mingxiao. The AI Era Calls Even More for the Humanistic Significance of Fieldwork [N]. China Social Sciences Daily, July 2,2025,p.6.

[2] Zhang Xiaojun. Cognitive Anthropological Reflections on “Artificial Homo” [J]. People's Forum · Academic Frontiers, 2023, (24): 67–79.

[3] UNESCO, “Digital Anthropology”, available at: https://www.unesco.org/en/digital-anthropology.

[4] Daniel Miller, “Digital anthropology”, available at:https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/entry/digital-anthropology.

[5] Wu Nan. Decoding Virtual Fieldwork in the Digital Age [N]. China Social Sciences Daily, July 9, 2025, p.1.

[6] Guo Jianbin, Zhang Wei. “Ethnography” and “Netnography”: Changes and Continuities [J]. Nanjing Social Sciences, 2017, (05): 95–102.

[7] Bu Yumei. An Analysis and Reflection on Fieldwork in Netnography [J]. Ethnic Studies, 2020, (02): 69–85+143.

[8] Sun Xinru. Online and Offline: Methods, Practice, and Narration of Netnography [J]. Journalism & Communication Research, 2017, 24(11): 34–48+127.

[9] Mi Shuxian. Individual Image Construction on Douyin and Its Resonance with Social Values: On the Possibility of Writing a Micro-Life Ethnography of Douyin [J]. Journal of Ethnology, 2019, 10(04): 54–61+115–117.

[10] Zhao Xudong. The Coming Era of WeChat Ethnography: Anthropologists’ Awareness of Cultural Transformation [J]. Exploration and Free Views, 2017, (05): 4–14.

[11] Tunstall, Elizabeth.“Decolonizing Design Innovation:Design Anthropology, Critical Anthropology, and Indigenous Knowledge”, In “Design Anthropology Theory and Practice”[N].edited by Wendy Gunn, Ton Otto, and Rachel Charlotte Smith, London: Bloomsbury,2013,pp.232–50.

[12] Sun Xiulin. Fieldwork in the Age of Artificial Intelligence [J]. New Horizons, 2025, (05): 69–77.

[13] Zhang Na. The Practice and Reflection on Virtual Ethnography Methods in China [J]. Journal of Sun Yat-sen University (Social Science Edition), 2015, 55(04): 143–150.

[14] Dr. Ella McPherson & Prof. Matei Candea, 'AI and scholarship: a manifesto', available at: https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/ai-and-scholarship-manifesto.

[15] Buyouquan, Y., Cao, Y., Chang, Z., et al. Expert consensus on ethical requirements for generative AI-assisted academic writing [J]. Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2025, 41(6): 826–832.

[16] Azimuth Labs, 'Automated Digital Ethnography: Revolutionizing Anthropological Research', available at: https://azimuthlabs.io/future-perspectives-and-trends.

[17] Zhang, J. Virtual worlds from the perspective of digital anthropology: Research methods and theoretical issues [J]. Journal of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2025, 45(7): 56–72+141+145.

[18] Qiu, Z. The era of change in sociology under digitalization [J]. China Social Sciences Evaluation, 2024, (2): 64–76+158-159.

[19] Zhang S.Z., 'How Anthropological Methods Can Break the AI "Black Box"', published July 25, 2025, available at: https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20250725A04N7U00.

[20] ‘Expert Consensus on Ethical Requirements for Generative Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Academic Paper Writing’ Officially Released, available at: http://www.sxmu.edu.cn/rwxy/info/1079/ 3247.htm.

[21] Roanne Voorst & Tanja Ahlin. "Key points for an ethnography of AI: an approach towards crucial data"[J].Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2024, 11(1): 1-5.