AI comes for China’s livestreaming scene

AI-generated livestreaming hosts are on the rise, according to reports: the development highlights both the labour issues brought up by the new technology as well as the evident utility in a country as large and dialectically diverse as China.

Why it matters

Virtual influencers were the first example of a trend that has taken in AI-generated models, but with livestreaming now big business (and a lucrative game for hosts) AI-generated hosts now present an alternative to humans that doesn’t tire and doesn’t need to afford to eat.

However, there are also many dialects across China, so for users there is the possibility of a more useful host if it is capable of projecting the same message to many more people. But it’s one of the first instances of true competition between humans and machines for work and will be an important test case for the technology and the labour questions it raises.

What’s going on

The South China Morning Post reports on the developments of some virtual host providers like Sansongshuzi, which is based in Guangzhou. The numbers are staggering:

• An average human host (paying rent for a physical studio) costs around 50,000 yuan per month (around $6957 USD).
• Sansongshuzi hosts cost just 500 yuan for the month ($70 USD).

Of course, the company isn’t presenting the idea as dystopian. Founder Hugo Huang tells the Post that the technology could boost the streaming ability of a human influencer whose personal brand is now established and trusted.

The technology is in the early stages and for a high-fidelity host presence the practice remains incredibly cost-intensive for some startups.

Time to think

Around the world, AI is developing and it is quickly reaching a point where it is speeding up human work to the point of replacing humans. This is a point in time for brands and agencies to really think about the technology and work out what ethical, responsible uses look like.

Sourced from the SCMP