Survival in the interstices: dilemmas and pathways of ‘Foreign Languages + AI’ interdisciplinary education

AI is reshaping global higher education while intensifying disciplinary inequalities that marginalize the humanities. Many universities are exploring the ‘Foreign Language + AI’ program as a pathway for interdisciplinary innovation in foreign language education. Grounded in Ecological Systems Theory, this study examines a ‘Japanese + AI’ program at a Chinese university through interviews with 16 stakeholders and analysis of policy and curriculum documents. The findings reveal tensions across ecological levels: learners face weak humanistic foundations and technical barriers; curricula remain fragmented with limited interdisciplinary integration; institutional frameworks lack substantive industry–education platforms; and policy support has created enabling conditions, although more operational guidance and evaluation tools are still needed to support implementation. The study develops an ecological framework for analysing ‘Foreign Language + AI’ education, highlighting risks of value erosion in the humanities and arguing that meaningful transformation depends on their critical capacity to interrogate and shape AI’s societal impacts.