Using DeepSeek to create anxiety, a large number of AI teaching courses are emerging in China to exploit students

China's artificial intelligence model DeepSeek has become a hot topic, and "AI anxiety" has spread as a result. Many "AI courses" have sprung up like mushrooms after rain; however, the quality of the course content varies widely. Some courses costing hundreds of RMB are merely a patchwork of online information, turning consumers into easy targets.

The Chinese startup "DeepSeek" based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, has launched an artificial intelligence model that has gone viral globally, simultaneously sparking a wave of "learning to use AI" in China. Some businessmen and internet celebrities have seized the "AI anxiety" business opportunity by launching "AI courses." With the environment fueling this trend, many courses have gained popularity, with one internet celebrity claiming to have made a profit of 200,000 RMB (approximately 900,000 TWD) in just four days through paid courses.

According to reports from Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency, Economic Observer, and upstream news, these types of courses have emerged rapidly, but consumers have found that some expensive courses consist almost entirely of information pieced together from the internet, and the so-called "secrets" are also publicly available information, leading them to feel "cheated."

Reports quote industry insiders stating that the chaos behind AI courses stems from people's anxiety about keeping up with the rapid development of technology. Recently, some businessmen or celebrities have primarily used the hype around DeepSeek to attract traffic, creating "AI anxiety" with slogans like "earn your first bucket of gold with AI," thereby profiting from it, while the courses being sold may not have much to do with DeepSeek itself.

The reports indicate that these courses have low knowledge content but high anxiety levels, representing a typical "knowledge scythe" that harvests people's thirst for knowledge, leading to a series of problems where bad money drives out good. The urgent task is to establish legal and regulatory measures, and social platforms and e-commerce should also set up reporting and complaint channels to expose behaviors that exploit the AI craze.

Liu Xin, an associate professor at the School of Information Science and Engineering at Lanzhou University, pointed out in the report that most AI models, including DeepSeek, have already designed their operating interfaces to be very simple and smooth. "Currently, some free guides available online have basically clarified the usage process of AI tools, and referring to these is sufficient."

He stated that spending money to learn how to use a free auxiliary tool is clearly putting the cart before the horse, and given the rapid evolution of AI, with new versions often released every month, many "in-depth courses" on social platforms last for several months, making it difficult to keep up with the timeliness.

Additionally, some industry insiders believe that compared to the general public, professionals in specific fields who need to use AI to assist in completing tasks, such as in healthcare and scientific experiments, require professional training. However, it is essential to choose formal training channels, with the focus being on how to deeply integrate expertise with AI applications to improve work efficiency