Livestreamers: Rise of the clones

There’s a growing industry in China in the creation of AI clones of humans that livestream companies can use to host shows by themselves. 

Why AI clones matter

There are around 10 million people working in the livestreaming industry in China, which generated $315bn in sales in 2021, but the recent 618 shopping festival witnessed a 500% increase in sellers on JD.com using virtual hosts.

For livestreaming companies, AI hosts are cheap and convenient in what has become a very competitive market, where businesses can struggle to retain experienced livestream hosts. AI hosts also have the advantage of being able to deliver scripts in multiple dialects or languages and could offer brands a way of reducing reliance on external hosts. But both brands and agencies will need to tread carefully through what may become an ethical minefield. 

The economics of AI livestreaming 

• Song Jiatao, co-founder of startup Lang Jue Technology, explained to Sixth Tone that the cost of initial image cloning is around $1,100, while the subsequent cost of computing power in the creation of a 30-second video is half a dollar.
• For comparison, the monthly wage for a livestreamer is around $2,700; even with the added cost of a script for an avatar, there are potentially significant savings to be made.
• Tencent charges around $1,400 for an avatar, double that if the voice is also cloned; generic avatars are available for as little as $40 on Taobao.

The practicalities involved 

• Livestreaming sessions typically last 3-4 hours, sometimes up to six, which is physically demanding for a human host; AI avatars can go 24 hours a day.
• But AI hosts can’t generate the same levels of engagement and interaction that make the best human hosts so successful. 
• If AI hosts can’t replicate the quality of human hosts, they can certainly produce a greater quantity of output which may be useful in increasing reach. 
• The Cyberspace Administration of China has set out regulations which require the clear labelling of AI-generated media content.

Sourced from Sixth Tone, Ars Technica, CCTV, Campaign Asia
^[Image:CCTV]