As artificial intelligence expands across industries, liberal arts graduates are discovering fresh opportunities in product, content and ethical design.

For Xu Sihan, a literature graduate student based in Beijing, a pivotal moment came in 2024 when she compared AI translations of classical Chinese literature with the translations she had done as an undergraduate.

"I could no longer tell the difference between human and AI-generated literary translations," Xu said. Unsettled, she turned to her professor for guidance. That conversation ultimately became a turning point, steering her toward internships in the AI industry.

When Xu asked how the humanities could remain relevant in the age of AI, her professor told her that human writing is rooted in unspoken emotions and personal stories — things that resonate with others even when the writer cannot fully explain them. What makes human expression unique is the writer's lived experience.

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That insight strengthened Xu's belief that the humanities and AI need not be at odds. When applying for internships, she began prioritizing AI-related roles. In 2025, after sending out numerous applications and receiving only one offer, she became a public relations intern working on AI-related projects at a major tech company. She has since moved into an AI product role at another tech firm.

Looking back on her first internship, Xu said the greatest benefit, as someone from a liberal arts background, was gaining a deeper understanding of the AI ecosystem.

"Before I entered the industry, I followed AI news casually, but once I was in it, I was exposed to at least five times as much information," she recalled. Being surrounded by people who constantly discussed AI made it impossible to remain a casual observer.

"You can no longer tell yourself it is enough to be interested from afar. You must get in the game," she said. The most valuable part, she added, was seeing firsthand how the industry evolved and how professionals responded to each technological shift.

As Xu shared her journey online, she began receiving messages from other liberal arts students asking how they could move into AI-related work. Many worried about missing out, being replaced, or not knowing which roles to pursue.

Those questions pushed Xu to think more concretely about where liberal arts students can fit into the AI industry. She pointed to two possible directions.

The first is to identify real-world needs and focus on practical applications. Xu gave an example of a conversation with a friend working in human resources.

Through that discussion, she realized that job seekers needed an AI agent, or automated assistant, capable of matching job seekers with suitable openings.

For Xu, that unmet need became a product opportunity — one where liberal arts students can contribute by understanding people's needs and translating them into useful applications.

The second direction is to focus on the human and ethical sides of AI. Tasks such as shaping AI personas or helping AI communicate more warmly and empathetically, she said, draw directly on the strengths of liberal arts students.

Xu also noted that the job market in 2026 has become even more competitive. Liberal arts students seeking AI-related positions, she said, may need to demonstrate their abilities through tangible work, such as creating a demo with AI coding tools.

Fortunately, as more people enter the AI field, learning resources have become increasingly abundant. Even students without a computer science background can now begin to understand the basic logic of how AI systems work through online courses.

Above all, Xu stressed the importance of not setting limits on oneself.

"I never set limits on myself because of my identity as a liberal arts student," she said. "That's why I ended up doing work that doesn't look like a typical liberal arts job."

Finding new paths

If Xu's story shows how students are beginning to find their place in AI, Du Xingjian's path reveals how that shift can unfold after several years in the tech industry.

Du, who studied media in graduate school, moved into tech in 2020, drawn by the rapid growth of the internet industry. She began pursuing internships and roles in the field, eventually landing her first job as a data product manager at Chinese services platform Meituan. She has since pivoted again and is now building her own AI startup.

Before ChatGPT-style generative AI models took off, Du said, the tech industry was largely dominated by major companies, leaving limited room for individuals and small teams. AI, she believes, has created more opportunities for smaller organizations and solo entrepreneurs.

Today, Du shares practical, hands-on experience with AI on social media under the handle "Hahadu". She describes her approach as "pragmatic AI": using AI to solve real workplace problems, rather than chasing flashy effects or treating the technology as a status symbol.

For instance, she uses AI to create content for e-commerce operations, repurpose livestreams into short clips and analyze product performance data.

Du recalled a designer friend who had spent tens of thousands of yuan learning AI but still struggled to use the tools in his own work.

"I walked him through his workflow and pointed out that only the design stage was worth improving with AI," she said. "If he could master that step and scale it up, he would actually make a profit."

"People love learning new AI knowledge but struggle to connect it to their own work," she said. "They are eager to use AI to streamline their work, yet often overlook the costs and benefits. Not every step will need AI optimization to bring significant improvement."

Du emphasized the importance of connecting AI knowledge to one's own work instead of blindly following trends.

"AI information is vast and fast-changing, and chasing the latest can be overwhelming," she said. "Start with your daily work and needs and figure out where AI fits into your own tasks."

Roles keep evolving

Taken together, Xu and Du's experiences suggest that AI is not only creating technical jobs but also redefining what non-technical workers can contribute. Analysts say this reflects a broader shift in the industry.

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences (BASS), has observed a fundamental change in AI hiring.

"The industry is moving from being purely technology-driven to being application-driven," he said. Non-technical roles, he noted, have evolved from basic data labeling to positions such as AI product managers, prompt engineers, and domain specialists.

The barrier to entry has also changed. It is no longer only about coding ability, but also about business knowledge and proficiency with AI tools.

"It is not an easy fallback option, but a field that emphasizes real cross-disciplinary competence," Wang said.

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Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based internet analyst, placed the shift in a broader context.

"In the past, programming was only for tech people who understood code," he said. "Now liberal arts students with ideas can use AI to generate code, articles, images, and short videos."

AI, he believes, is less about replacing people than amplifying their creativity. "For non-tech people, including liberal arts students, the opportunities far outweigh the challenges," Liu said.

As Xu and Du's stories show, AI presents real opportunities for liberal arts students. But those opportunities are not automatic. They require a proactive mindset, practical learning, and the willingness to apply new tools to one's own field.

For Xu, the uncertainty that once made AI feel threatening is now part of what makes the field exciting.

As she put it, "This field is so new that everyone starts from zero."

Contact the writers at guiqian@i21st.cn