AI-driven new professions emerge in digital content creation industry

Artificial intelligence (AI) is giving rise to new professions within the digital content creation sector, reshaping the landscape of creative industries.

Among the pioneers is Zhang Yuxuan, a post-2000s entrant recognized as an AI prompt engineer. Her role involves selecting AI-generated content, including images and videos, ensuring logical coherence and alignment with client requirements, and refining it for optimal quality.

Thanks to her keen aesthetic judgment and proficiency with AI tools, Zhang quickly became a sought-after talent in prompt engineering.

"I received more than 200 interview invitations in a single day after I sent out my resume for job application," said Zhang. Another hot role is the AI animator. Yu Zhujun, who entered the sector only six months ago, has already participated in more than 10 projects.

"Before using AI, it took concept artists a month to complete a piece of character design or scene design. Now, we can finish an entire work in one month," she said.

As these specialized professions rapidly proliferate, the demand for skilled talent continues to grow.

To meet the emerging market needs, training programs focusing on generative AI applications, AI training and AI animation production are fully booked at a training base in Moganshan AI Film City in Deqing, east China's Zhejiang Province.

"Most of our trainees receive more than a month of training here. Then game, film and television, as well as animation companies across the country come to recruit talent. Both AI digital human developers and AI content compliance specialists are in urgent demand," said Zhang Weibin, head of teaching and research at the Perfect World Education.

To date, more than 7,000 people have received training in AI-related technologies and cultural creative industries in Deqing. Leveraging this talent pool, the Moganshan AI Film City has attracted 43 AI-related film and TV companies, fueling the "AI + screen culture" industry sector, which has seen a three-year consecutive surge in output value.

AI-driven new professions emerge in digital content creation industry

Ahead of the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum and the International Technology Trade Fair, Beijing launched the ZGC International Technology Trade Center last Tuesday to accelerate the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements and better connect research with market demand.

Covering 4,500 square meters, the center serves as a one-stop platform for technology transactions, offering services of trading, project roadshows, exhibitions, business matchmaking, and new sci-tech product debuts.

"The center leverages Beijing's advantages as a national sci-tech innovation hub, bringing together key trading resources of technology, talent, and capital. By integrating online and offline platforms, it is to build a global network for technology trading under the vision of buying and selling globally," said Yan Ying, director of the Sci-tech Transfer Division of the Management Committee of Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park under the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

A featured section of the center, dubbed the "Orange Shop," a homophone for "achievement shop" in Chinese, focuses on cutting-edge sectors such as AI, smart hardware, smart healthcare, and new materials. It combines product launches, interactive experiences, and exchanges, displaying top innovated products in an accessible way and helping new technologies gain market visibility.

"The center will help energize the entire chain of sci-tech commercialization, facilitating the transition of sci-tech findings from laboratories to the marketplace and from technologies to industries, and accelerating the high-quality realization of the transfer," said Liu Qiang, vice president of Beijing Zhongguancun Sci-tech Services.

Zhongguancun International Technology Trade Center inaugurated