Under China's "AI + Education" strategy

universities in Yunnan's ethnic border regions have rapidly introduced digital tools into entrepreneurship education

including AIGC content generators

data dashboards and virtual simulation platforms. Existing narratives often celebrate these technologies as straightforwardly "empowering". Based on document analysis

course case studies and interview-based qualitative evidence from three ethnic-border universities in Yunnan

this paper critically examines the limits of such empowerment. The findings show three intertwined constraints. First

a foundational limit emerges from gaps in infrastructure access

digital literacy and trust

particularly affecting rural minority students and senior teachers. Second

an adaptation limit arises when generic digital tools and case repositories

designed for coastal economies

fail to align with local entrepreneurial fields such as specialty agriculture

ethnic cultural industries and border trade. Third

a value limit appears as tool rationality and platform metrics narrow entrepreneurship education toward formal outputs (business-plan templates

polished slides) at the expense of deep engagement with local problems

emotional resilience and social responsibility. These limits are rooted in regional digital divides

university evaluation systems and a broader culture of technological solutionism. The paper concludes by proposing a "warm digitalization" approach that reorients technology use from tool-driven adoption to scenario- and problem-driven integration.