The core of Marxist theory of “human emancipation” lies in exploring how humans can break free from various constraints, lies in criticizing and transcending the alienated existence under capitalist logic to achieve their own free and all-round development. Artificial Intelligence (AI), as humanity’s latest scientific and technological achievement, is profoundly transforming modes of production and ways of life. It promotes the transformation of labor forms, the restructuring of social relations, and the elevation of developmental dimensions, providing the material foundation for enabling humanity’s transition from the “realm of necessity” to the “realm of freedom”. This offers a historical opportunity for human emancipation and free, all-round development. However, AI is also a “double-edged sword”. The application of intelligent technology has led to new forms of labor alienation, newly intensified social divisions, and further erosion of human subjectivity. Only by adhering to the dialectical thinking of Marxism to view the dual nature of AI can we seize the historical opportunities it affords, address the realistic challenges it poses, and actively explore practical paths through which AI technology can empower human emancipation and free, all-round development. To this end and grounded in the fundamental tenets of Marxism, our study aims to systematically elucidate the historical opportunities and realistic challenges facing “human emancipation” in the age of AI. It further explores socialism-oriented practical paths: to promote labor emancipation and distribution justice at the production level; to uphold a “human-centered” development philosophy at the institutional level; to adhere to the principle of “technology for the people” to remold human subjectivity at the subjective level; and to foster global technological sharing and collaborative governance at the global level. Only in this way can AI be transformed from a potential tool of alienation into a revolutionary force advancing the cause of human emancipation.