High-Priced AI Courses Target Anxious White-Collar Workers
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High-Priced AI Courses Target Anxious White-Collar Workers
White-collar workers are caught in "AI anxiety."
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Mu Mu
As the Li Yizhou incident unfolds, various AI training courses are surfacing across platforms.
Even before Sora opens public testing access, numerous courses teaching "how to use Sora" or "how to make money with Sora" have flooded online platforms. Seeking business opportunities amid the AI wave is understandable, but some individuals are exploiting the anxiety AI generates, diluting course content while charging premium prices.
Li Yizhou’s course sales are no isolated case. Some courses use labels like “employees from top tech firms” or “highly educated graduates from elite universities” as marketing tactics to present themselves as credible and justify high pricing. In reality, most of these claims cannot be verified, and the content is often severely inflated—similar courses could probably be obtained for as little as 2 yuan.
The popularity of paid courses ultimately stems from people being caught in "AI anxiety." As "mastering AI tools" gradually becomes a required workplace skill, more and more individuals are turning to learn about AI, creating an atmosphere akin to "the eve of a technological revolution"—though that eve may still be long in coming.
AI Courses Hotter Than AI Itself
"OpenAI hasn't even turned a profit yet, but Li Yizhou has already made a fortune," reported media citing Feigua Data. Selling his AI course at 199 yuan each, Li reportedly sold around 250,000 copies in one year, generating 50 million yuan in revenue.
Soon after, Li's reputation collapsed. News of a网红 (internet celebrity) having his course taken down even aired on CCTV.
CCTV Finance reports on Li Yizhou's incident
The downfall stemmed from allegations that Li’s course involved false advertising or consumer fraud. His video lessons often used highly emotional, sensational language to create an atmosphere where learning AI was framed as “mandatory” or a matter of professional survival. Additionally, his self-proclaimed titles—such as Tsinghua University PhD and AI advisor to multiple companies—faced scrutiny and skepticism.
Behind Li’s fall was also buyer dissatisfaction regarding the value of his expensive offerings. One paying user commented: “The course only has about 40 sessions, most of which are extremely basic—like using AI to create Excel sheets or search for information. Each lesson is short and covers very fundamental topics, similar to what you’d see scrolling through random short videos online.”
Shortly afterward, Li Yizhou’s WeChat mini-program “Yizhou Yike,” used to sell his AI courses, was suspended for violating the *Provisional Regulations on the Development and Management of Public Information Services via Instant Messaging Tools*.
Following the ban on Li’s course, smaller-scale “Sora crash courses” across the internet grew quieter. On Knowledge Planet, where dozens of “Sora training programs” once appeared with a simple search, listings now show nothing.
Although Sora-related course热度 has cooled, similar AI training programs remain popular across platforms, priced anywhere from a few yuan to hundreds. Naturally, quality varies widely.
MetaVerse Daily tried a 2.1-yuan course on Xianyu. From the syllabus, it focused on using prompts to meet writing needs, including content creation and marketing. There was also a separate module on “English learning,” teaching how to use AI for conversation practice, multilingual translation, and English writing.
At first glance, two yuan seems like good value. But upon closer inspection, it becomes clear why it’s so cheap: most lessons last under 15 minutes and contain significant filler content.
Yet despite their low price, these budget courses aren’t fundamentally different in content from those selling for 199 yuan. Like the Li Yizhou case, higher-priced courses benefit from perceived credibility. For example, some instructors label themselves as “product managers at major tech firms,” “professional career coaches,” or “elite university graduates”—but many operate anonymously, making it hard to verify their credentials.
Workplace Anxiety Behind Learning AI
With rapid development and iteration of AI products, more people are shifting from resisting AI to embracing it. Amid fears of being replaced by AI or by those who use AI effectively, many are learning AI skills to boost competitiveness—one key reason behind the surge in AI course demand.
Liu Xin (a pseudonym), an employee at a major tech firm, told MetaVerse Daily that he started experimenting with ChatGPT for coding shortly after its release. He found AI effective for handling simple, routine tasks, significantly improving work efficiency. He added that his company expects employees to master AI tools—a skill now nearly essential.
According to Indeed, a leading global job site, in its latest report *Highest Paid Skills in Tech*, job seekers with generative AI skills command average starting salaries 47% higher than others. Mastering generative AI has become a “killer skill” for boosting earning potential.
In China, requirements such as “proficient in using AI software like ChatGPT and Midjourney to produce high-quality text and images for work support” have already been included in job postings. Not long ago, candidates were merely expected to “know Word and Excel.” That era is giving way to a new standard: “proficiency in AI-powered office work.”
Zhao Jingyi (a pseudonym), a recent intern, shared with MetaVerse Daily that she initially didn’t grasp the importance of AI. However, her supervisor showed strong interest, consistently encouraging the team to learn new technologies. After researching online for a while, Zhao realized that knowing how to use AI tools genuinely helped. “For instance, drafting a meeting notice used to take me half an hour manually. Now, with ChatGPT, it takes just a few minutes.”
Zhao believes AI tools can act as a kind of “teacher,” especially for newcomers like herself. “It helps build frameworks and gives you a starting point. Even if the output isn’t always ideal, it quickly clarifies my thinking.”
When asked whether she took any formal AI courses, Zhao said they might be useful but aren’t necessary. “There are plenty of free resources online. Just browse regularly, experiment hands-on—you can even ask AI directly how to use the tools yourself.”
As Zhao experienced during her internship, many companies in China now expect employees to possess AI literacy and practical skills. A recruiter at one company explained: “Roles currently impacted by AI include graphic design, junior programming, and copy editing. But we’re far from full ‘replacement.’ Most of the time, we simply require employees to use AI tools to complete or assist with basic tasks.”
AI anxiety is spreading through the workplace.
Yuetong (a pseudonym), working at a leading e-commerce company in China, once frantically asked friends familiar with AI, “What exactly is an AI Agent?” When one friend expressed surprise—“Don’t big tech firms already use all kinds of AI tools?”—she replied bluntly, “Internally, it’s super competitive—we must keep up.” Two months later, she quit her well-paid job without waiting for her year-end bonus, joining an AI startup instead. “While this industry is still early, I need to pivot fast. The old internet companies are stuck in internal competition; they themselves may not even know how much AI they’ll truly adopt.”
Rather than contemplating career trends, designer Le (a pseudonym) bought courses out of pure anxiety. “I’m someone who fell into every trap—bought accounts, enrolled in courses, spent time studying—all because I feared falling behind.” After going through the motions, he concluded: “AI is powerful, but what matters is how you use it. Just learning theory isn’t enough—you need to explore and apply the tools constantly.”
Clearly, demand for AI in the workplace is rising. Perhaps the first lesson workers need to learn is “how not to be swept away solely by anxiety.”
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