Amid the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid robots, Chinese universities are embracing the year 2025.
The year 2025 is destined to be a year of transformation. Chinese universities have embarked on a journey: whether to gain strategic initiative through strategic agility or miss the opportunity for transformation due to delays.
How can AI technology empower discipline development? What insights does AI technology bring to the cultivation of innovative talents? The Paper has specially launched the University 2025 feature to conduct in-depth discussions on the changes of universities in the AI era.
Recently, Professor Yu Miaojie, President of Liaoning University (LNU) and a Fellow of the International Economic Association, stated in an exclusive interview with a reporter from The Paper that AI is not a substitute for social science research, but a catalyst in terms of methodology. No matter how technology evolves, talents who can maintain judgment and put forward innovative ideas in the complex world have always been the core of social needs.
At a time when AI is reshaping the forms of industry and education, how does LNU, a major institution of humanities and social sciences in Northeast China, respond to the propositions of the times? How does this Double First-Class university, with profound foundations in literature, history, philosophy and advantageous economic disciplines, find its position in the new round of technological revolution and cultivate innovative talents for the future? Recently, Yu Miaojie, President of LNU and Fellow of the International Economic Association, shared his thoughts in an exclusive interview with The Paper (www.thepaper.cn).
As the only Double First-Class construction discipline site for applied economics in Northeast China, LNU undertakes a special mission in promoting the interdisciplinary integration and serving the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China. Yu Miaojie is a renowned scholar in the field of international trade and world economy, who has long been committed to the research of China’s economy, trade policies and other fields, and possesses profound academic attainments and rich experience in university management. Since taking office as president, he has actively promoted interdisciplinary integration and innovation in school-running models, leading this Double First-Class university with profound foundations in literature, history and philosophy to meet the challenges of the new era.
When talking about the core impacts and opportunities of AI technology on social science disciplines such as economics, Yu Miaojie believes that the role of AI is first reflected in the opportunities and challenges it brings to the real economy. The model represented by “AI +” has penetrated all aspects of life and exerted a profound impact on the economy.
From the perspective of education, Yu Miaojie holds that teachers and students should be equipped with the ability to study how AI serves the real economy and local economy. In the face of new business forms such as low-altitude economy, teachers should conduct in-depth field investigations and summarize based on cases. The development of AI provides teachers with a new perspective and platform for scientific research, which is a concrete embodiment of helping to write papers on the land of the motherland.
Facing the impacts and opportunities of AI on the field of social sciences, Yu Miaojie emphasized the dialectical relationship between technique and principle: AI is a technique to improve efficiency, while social sciences provide ideas and principles to guide practice. The two are by no means substitutes but complements. Based on this understanding, LNU promotes discipline reform through the simultaneous promotion of abolition and establishment-stopping the enrollment of majors that are not adapted to the times, expanding high-quality undergraduate education, and at the same time, deploying “AI +” directions such as digital economy and cyber security, establishing an institute of big data and artificial intelligence, and exploring the transformation path of local universities in the integration of new liberal arts and new engineering.
“The core is to cultivate students’ ability of independent thinking,” Yu Miaojie said. No matter how technology evolves, talents who can maintain judgment and put forward innovative ideas in the complex world have always been the core of social needs. The exploration of LNU is not only related to the development direction of a local Double First-Class university, but also attempts to provide a reference practical model for similar institutions on how to balance tradition and innovation and serve regional revitalization.
Professor Yu Miaojie, President of LNU and a Fellow of the International Economic Association
The following is the full text of the interview:
AI is a “New Perspective for Scientific Research” and Even a “Tool for Serving the Real Economy”
The Paper: You have long been engaged in the field of international trade and world economy. From the perspective of interdisciplinary integration, what do you think are the core impacts and opportunities of AI on social science disciplines such as economics and business administration?
Yu Miaojie: To talk about the impact of AI on social sciences, we must first clarify the core goals of economics and business administration: first, to conduct scientific research well; second, to serve society. The prerequisite for serving society is to make the discipline level meet the standards of Double First-Class, connect with world-class standards through teaching and scientific research, and at the same time implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education. The value of AI is realized around this goal.
In terms of opportunities, “AI +” has deeply penetrated into life. From general artificial intelligence to new forms such as embodied intelligence, all are profoundly affecting the real economy. For education, this requires our teachers and students to have the ability to study how AI serves the real economy and empowers the local economy.
In other words, in terms of new economic forms and new business formats closely related to real life, such as low-altitude economy, teachers need to conduct more field investigations and summarize based on different cases. From this perspective, the development of AI provides teachers with a brand-new perspective and platform for scientific research, and it is also a concrete embodiment of helping to write papers on the land of the motherland.
AI is not an impact on social sciences, but a boost. It can help teachers and students process data and analyze economic phenomena more efficiently. However, the core of social sciences--insight into practical problems, summary of economic laws, and response to social needs--still depends on human research and thinking.
The Paper: You have repeatedly emphasized the importance of comparative advantage for regional economic development. If this economic concept is applied to the development of universities, what is the greatest comparative advantage of LNU? How will the university use its profound foundations in literature, history, philosophy and traditional advantageous disciplines such as economics to build new competitiveness in the AI era?
Yu Miaojie: The comparative advantage of LNU first lies in the dual attribute of “comprehensiveness + characteristic disciplines”. As a provincial Double First-Class university, we cover all discipline categories including literature, history, philosophy, economics, management, law, science, engineering, medicine, art, etc., with a profound foundation in liberal arts. More importantly, the economics of LNU, especially applied economics, is the only Double First-Class discipline in Northeast China. In the past three years, this discipline has developed rapidly and achieved remarkable progress recognized by society.
Specifically, this advantage is reflected in three aspects: first, the introduction and cultivation of talents. In the construction of the Double First-Class applied economics discipline, LNU has cultivated Fellows of the International Economic Association and fully introduced foreign Fellows of the Econometric Society, significantly enhancing the strength of the talent echelon; second, breakthroughs in scientific research. In the past three years, 16 papers have been published in international first-class journals, which is comparable to that of first-tier 985 universities; third, the value of think tanks. Our research results have been adopted by the central and local governments for many times, providing practical intellectual support for the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China.
In the AI era, the construction of our competitiveness also revolves around this advantage. Relying on the core position of applied economics, we guide teachers and students to base themselves on the background of “AI + new economy”, study cutting-edge fields such as digital economy and new international trade rules, and deeply integrate traditional advantageous disciplines with technological innovation.
In addition, the international influence of the university is also improving simultaneously: it has signed strategic cooperation agreements with more than 170 universities, and carried out substantive degree cooperation programs with well-known universities such as the University of Wisconsin and Virginia Tech in the United States; teachers also serve as the only Asian associate editor of a world-renowned century-old journal. All these have further extended the disciplinary advantages of LNU to the international arena.
The Paper: As a provincial Double First-Class construction university in Liaoning Province, how does the development strategy of LNU more closely align with the national strategy of the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China? Facing the impact of AI technology on traditional education models, how does the university balance disciplinary inheritance and technological innovation?
Yu Miaojie: The comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China is a national strategy. LNU aligns its major setting and talent cultivation with the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China, and focuses on promoting opening-up and helping the industrial revitalization and county economic development of Liaoning.
In balancing disciplinary inheritance and technological innovation, we adhere to the simultaneous promotion of abolition and establishment: on the one hand, we resolutely stop the enrollment of disciplines that are not adapted to the development of the times and realize the expansion of high-quality undergraduate education - after expanding the enrollment by more than 600 students last year, the admission scores have increased instead of decreasing, and economics has entered the national Class A, while the discipline of discipline inspection and supervision has even been rated as A+; on the other hand, we vigorously promote the integration of new liberal arts with new engineering and new science, actively set up emerging majors such as artificial intelligence, digital economy, new international trade rules and cyber security, and establish platforms such as the Big Data Research Institute and the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute to provide intellectual support for the regional industrial upgrading, thereby retaining local talents.
AI and Social Sciences: The Relationship Between Technique and Principle
The Paper: Currently, the view that AI may replace some basic research work in the field of social sciences has sparked discussions and even affected the major choices of some students. What is your view on the value and positioning of social science disciplines in the AI era? Facing the rapid development of science and technology, LNU has put forward construction directions such as new liberal arts and new engineering. How is the university currently promoting the substantive interdisciplinary integration of humanities and social sciences with technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data?
Yu Miaojie: I believe that in the AI era, social sciences will not become secondary, and the view that liberal arts are useless is biased.
Artificial intelligence is a technical tool, just like a chemical catalyst. It is not intended to replace liberal arts, but to provide support. I have always believed that the relationship between AI and social sciences is that of technique and principle--AI is a technique that provides methods, while social sciences are the principle that provides ideas. AI can efficiently summarize previous literature and process massive amounts of data, but it cannot create new viewpoints and new ideas; however, classic social science works like Marx’s Das Kapital can continue to influence human development, relying on the power of ideas.
Therefore, we believe that artificial intelligence and humanities and social sciences are complementary. The key to university education is not whether students have mastered specific technologies or coding skills, but whether they have developed the ability of independent thinking. Regardless of liberal arts or science, students should master thinking methods and have independent judgment to maintain core competitiveness in the complex and changing world. Based on this understanding, the interdisciplinary integration promoted by LNU is by no means replacing social sciences with AI, but empowering social sciences with AI.
The Paper: Currently, graduates are facing employment pressure. How does LNU respond to this challenge? What specific support and guidance measures has the university taken in improving students’ practical ability, strengthening school-enterprise cooperation, and expanding the job market?
Yu Miaojie: LNU has adopted the strategy of inviting in and going out, closely cooperating with government departments, enterprises and other employers across the country, and has established urban research institutes in 14 prefecture-level cities in Liaoning Province to guide students to study real problems in the real world. At the same time, we have established a research institute in Beijing and plan to expand to cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen to cultivate students’ vision and pattern of caring about the world. The goal is to enable students to have problem-oriented thinking, systematic thinking and a global perspective, so as to better contribute to society.
We always guide students not to limit their horizons to Liaoning Province, but to view employment and development from the perspective of caring about the world, so that students can not only serve the regional revitalization, but also find their positions on the national and even global stage.
The Paper: In your opinion, what is the core quality that graduates cultivated by LNU should possess most in the AI era?
Yu Miaojie: There is only one core--the ability of independent thinking. We should keep pace with the times and apply advanced technologies: use tools such as AI to improve efficiency and expand horizons, but ultimately return to the essence of independent judgment and innovative thinking. The core is to cultivate better independent thinking ability.
