Generative artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way humans produce knowledge, thus giving rise to a new mode of knowledge production. Intelligent machines, which have evolved from being mere assistants in knowledge production to a “new producer” on part with humans, integrate isolated knowledge from academic disciplines across borders and domains, and use one-dimensional language to connect and aggregate various forms of knowledge. For the first time, knowledge is produced in a “non-human” way. We need to establish a new concept of knowledge that knowledge must be produced “for humans”, and abandon the idea that knowledge can merely be produced “by humans”. Humans need to develop new knowledge-producing capabilities and approaches, and produce knowledge in a human way for human development, rather than in a machine-based manner for the sake machines. The machine-based knowledge production mode imposes higher demands for human knowledge output, and humans’ ability to control knowledge-producing machines needs to grow in step with intelligent machines’ ability to produce knowledge. In essence, knowledge production in education is the reproduction of humans. As a new educational element, intelligent machines will participate in the process of human reproduction. As a new metaphor for human reproduction, machine-based knowledge production inspires us to have a new understanding of the generation of “humans” in the process of education from the perspective of machines.