Comparing Human Ability with Generative AI: Self-Evaluation, Appraisal, and Adaptive Professional Intelligence Among Journalism and Communication Students

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how students evaluate their abilities, occupational prospects, and the continuing value of professional education. This study examined how ability-based comparison with AI is associated with perceived professional value among journalism and communication students and why the same comparison may be linked to both threatening and adaptive responses. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used. Survey data from 507 students in China were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling, with PROCESS analyses as robustness checks, followed by semi-structured interviews with 20 students. Ability-based comparison with AI was positively associated with job replacement anxiety, which was negatively associated with perceived professional value, and with AI learning motivation, which was positively associated with perceived professional value. A positive direct association with perceived professional value also remained. AI hindrance appraisal strengthened the comparison–anxiety association, whereas AI challenge appraisal did not significantly moderate the comparison–motivation association. Interviews indicated that these relationships were task- and criterion-dependent and shaped by occupational interpretation and concrete learning demands. Human–AI comparison may therefore relate to professional value through simultaneous threat- and adaptation-oriented pathways rather than a uniformly positive or negative process.