Summary of the Key Points
This article exposes a group of online instructors who market their courses under the guise of AI, exploiting people's anxiety about the AI era to charge them through a tiered pricing system (ranging from a 39.9 yuan trial course to a 18,999 yuan private coaching session). The victims are not “stupid” but rather individuals in dire financial straits due to mortgage payments, unemployment, and economic pressures, who see these courses as a last resort. The instructors’ tactics—creating a fake persona, investing in advertising, using private messaging platforms for persuasion, implementing tiered pricing, and creating barriers to customer refunds—are identical to those used in past stock trading or online marketing courses, only with the new label of “AI.” The real problem lies not with the instructors themselves but in the societal lack of accessible skills training, alternative income opportunities, and social security, which leaves vulnerable people easy targets for such scams.
Detailed Analysis
1. The Victims Are Not “Stupid” – They’re People on the Brink
Many assume that those who buy AI courses are unintelligent, but this is not the case. The victims are often ordinary individuals: middle-aged workers in manufacturing facing layoffs or salary cuts, mothers looking for additional income, and retirees trying to help their children with down payments. While they may be capable of making price comparisons at the market or handling work tasks, their situations are critical; they stand to lose their homes, pay for their children’s education, or cover their elderly parents’ medical expenses. The AI courses represent the cheapest option for them, offering the hope that “spending some money will grant them access to AI knowledge and a new path forward.”
2. The AI Course Marketing “Assembly Line”: Every Step Is Calculated
The instructors’ methods are highly standardized:
- Creating a Fake Persona: They spend thousands on professional photos, register shell companies, and claim titles like “former AI director of a large company” or “give up a million-dollar annual salary” (which no one verifies, and if someone does, they’re unlikely to buy the courses).
- Attracting Traffic: They post ads on short-video platforms claiming monthly incomes of 50,000 yuan through AI, with minimal investment in advertising.
- Persuasion Through Private Messaging: After recruiting subscribers, they show fake income screenshots and use scripted live broadcasts that say things like “Miss out on AI, and you’ll be left behind” or “Only 3 spots left,” urging buyers to make a purchase.
- Tiered Pricing: The initial course (39.9 yuan) provides recorded lessons; a more expensive package (1,999 yuan) includes outdated tools; the most expensive option (18,999 yuan) offers only two monthly phone calls for guidance.
- Risk Isolation: The companies that collect payments, sign contracts, and deliver the courses are separate entities. If you want a refund, the contract prevents it, or the company might be a shell company, making legal action more costly than the loss.
3. AI Is Just a New Label for an Old Scam
AI courses have little to do with the technology itself; it’s like using the name “lottery” or “mathematics” to sell something. Their essence is the same as those from 20 years ago (internet wealth-making courses, online marketing courses, or short-video sales courses): taking advantage of technological trends to tell anxious people, “This is your last chance to make money.” Whenever a technology becomes popular, they change their guise and target the same vulnerable groups.
4. Banning Instructors Is Not Enough; the Problem Lies in the Environment That Enables Scams
Why do these scams persist? It’s not because the instructors are particularly malicious but due to broader societal issues:
- Many lack access to practical skills training.
- There are few legal alternative income opportunities.
- Support systems for unemployment and retirement are inadequate.
- Ordinary people lack knowledge to recognize online scams.
Without addressing these underlying problems, banning one instructor (like Li Yizhou) will not solve the issue. As long as there are anxious individuals in need of help, new scammers will emerge.
5. Don’t Laugh at Their “Stupidity” – Fear Can Overcome Reason
Some online critics mock those who spend thousands on courses for free content on platforms like Bilibili. However, when people are extremely anxious, their rationality is suppressed by fear. The instructors’ tactics (such as claiming “you’ll be left behind if you don’t learn” or showing off others’ high incomes) tap into this fear, making the courses seem like a way to escape it. They’re not stupid; they’re just pushed to a corner by life, and the instructors are there with a sign that says, “I can help you.” The real force behind these scams is the pressure of society.
The purpose of this article is not to criticize the instructors but to highlight that the phenomenon of exploiting people in the AI era reflects broader societal anxiety. To address this issue, we need to provide more support and opportunities for ordinary people so they don’t have to rely on such scams as a last resort in times of fear.