14 October 2026 News

Entertainment : Mangguo TV (芒果TV) announced on October 12 the debut of five native AI artists—Chengdu, Fangyu, Lin Enna, Qixu, and Zhanyan—in a single official announcement. The project was jointly created by the AIGC Innovation Content Center under Mangguo TV (芒果TV) and Lize Yingye (丽泽影业), leveraging the self-developed AIGC platform “Mangguo Lingchuang (芒果灵创)” and “Mangguo Lingchuang (芒果灵创) Theater” for distribution. All five opened verified Weibo accounts and were equipped with human agents and scriptwriting teams. Their debut work “Awesome Friends” premiered on Mangguo TV (芒果TV) on October 14, with all six episodes performed by AI. Simultaneously, the AI short drama “The Laid-off Girl” featuring the female lead “Fang Taozi” faced backlash and was removed following an advertisement claiming “contact lenses are comfortable to wear all day,” exposing the problem that virtual personas cannot authentically test products. Leading film and television company Yaoke Media launched AI digital artists Qin Lingyue and Lin Xiyan and customized a series for them titled “The Bronze Mystery of Qinling.” Shuma Shixun (数码视讯)’s subsidiary Wanmei Xingkong Chuanmei (完美星空传媒) produced the AI live-action drama “Bewitching Jinshanshan,” which landed on TikTok, iQIYI, and Tencent, comprehensively incorporating AI technology into scripts, storyboards, and visual styles. The company stated that these capabilities will extend to virtual production, digital humans, and AI drama industrialization. Qi Wei (戚薇) launched official digital avatar “Han Qingxia,” who starred in the AI animated drama “Doomsday Summer,” playing an end-times character, sparking discussion about “AI face homogeneity.” Subsequently, “Baoqing Wharf,” produced by Hunan Qianzhen Huanjie (湖南千帧幻界), invited 37 residents of Shaoyang to authorize their likenesses to construct locally distinctive digital avatars showing differentiation. Late artist You Benchang (游本昌) previously authorized likeness and voice for the AI micro-drama “Jigong the Fake Demon Slayer.” Wang Zuxian (王祖贤) authorized a youthful likeness to NetEase, Inc.’s game “All Under Heaven” to produce the AI short film “Ethereal Silhouette.” Wu Qihua (吴启华) authorized a 20-year-old likeness for an AI film recreating a youthful image. He Chengming (何晟铭) became China’s entertainment industry’s first male actor to authorize facial likeness for AI drama. The classic drama “A Smile Is Alluring” was rebroadcast on Youku (优酷) as “One Smile Enchants the City” after AI face-swapping. The backlog drama “Night Traveler” completed production through green screen reshoots combined with AI face-swapping. Voice actor San Shi (三石) publicly accused Hongguo (红果) and Douyin (抖音) of using AI-cloned voices highly similar to his in multiple AI animated dramas without authorization and filed a lawsuit. iQIYI announced that over a hundred artists have joined “Nadou Pro Yiren Ku (纳逗Pro艺人库)” to individually negotiate licensing for AI film and television projects. B Zhan (B站) content creator used AI face-swapping technology to “swap” Michael Jackson’s classic stage performance into Huang Renxun (黄仁勋), Nvidia’s founder, generating widespread circulation. Shanghai Bantu Keji (半图科技) completed a Pre-A financing round exceeding ten million dollars, led by Lianxiang Chuangtou (联想创投) with participation from IDG Ziben (IDG资本). Founder Xing Jun (邢骏) previously served as head of miHoYo’s “Reverse Entropy” AI research institute and led the virtual human project “Luming.” The company’s self-developed AI interactive product “Daihao Live (代号Live)” has validated multi-modal real-time interaction capabilities, supporting cross-character and cross-engine integration, and is collaborating with leading domestic embodied AI enterprises to integrate behavior models into robot simulation training.

Virtual Idols and Controversy : Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone issued an administrative identity credential and commercial digital performance access certificate to AI singer Yuri in its regulatory sandbox in June 2026, recording her name, address, and facial features and binding her to the operating company, becoming an early example in China of issuing administrative identity documents to AI virtual personas, with liability extending to the operator rather than the virtual character itself. In another incident that sparked widespread online discussion, the operator BABYPVSSY Yule (BABYPVSSY娱乐) of virtual AI girl group BABYQUEEN issued an announcement on October 12 stating that member Mity (Kim Min-dee) would suspend all group and solo activities and enter a “maternity leave” phase due to “pregnancy news,” and released an apology letter in Mity’s voice the following day, followed by a new song teaser an hour later—a series of moves widely viewed by public opinion as “black-hat marketing”; the account’s IP location showed Liaoning province, with only hundreds of followers and having not yet officially debuted. After the incident escalated, the creators behind the scenes issued a statement clarifying that BABYQUEEN and its characters were created by several female students who enjoy Korean pop music as a hobby for self-entertainment, the “pregnancy” was entirely fictional storytelling used to exit the character, and no profit was ever made from the entire process, with the creative team subsequently subjected to body shaming, abusive attacks, and harassment of their families. In the crossover domain of traditional opera, the “Trendy Sounds and Opera Charm” special at Shanghai Haishang Liyuan (海上梨园) featured collaboration between young Peking opera master Hou Yu (侯宇) and virtual singers T. Shaman, T. Crane Crane, and T. Siming under Tingchaoge (听潮阁), marking the first offline performance of the original single “Half Moon,” with virtual singer T. Shaman performing online through virtual motion capture technology and sharing the stage with Hou Yu, interweaving traditional Peking opera vocals with virtual image rap, becoming Haishang Liyuan (海上梨园)’s first attempt at introducing a virtual singer to the historic opera stage.

Marketing and Advertising : In the corporate digital human live streaming and marketing sector, Shenzhen Qiyuan Zhisheng Keji (深圳启元智胜科技)’s Yingqi Kunpeng (盈启鲲鹏) has independently developed an AI digital human live streaming system integrating web, PC client, and mobile endpoints, supporting green screen and non-green screen clone modeling and covering Douyin (抖音) Kuaishou Douyin, Kuaishou, WeChat Moments, and Taobao across four major platforms, with monthly expenditures approximately one-tenth to one-fifth that of live streaming teams with real people; the report also mentions technology focus areas of peer companies including Tengxun Zhiying (腾讯智影), Baidu Zhineng Yunxiling (百度智能云曦灵), iFLYTEK, and Volcano Engine. Huadian Shangcheng (华电商城) leverages its independently developed AI digital human “Yunbao (云宝)” relying on proprietary domestic large models and RAG retrieval technology to build four engines—smart answering, smart guidance, smart inquiry, and smart execution—to serve enterprise procurement scenarios. Hong Kong’s Meiya Yule Zixun Jituan (美亚娱乐资讯集团) independently developed AI platform “Wuji (无极)” relies on an exclusive copyright library of over 600 Hong Kong films, decomposing the director, screenwriter, and editor workflow into four modules of script assessment, visual effects generation, digital humans, and intelligent editing, driving adaptations of classic IPs such as “The Grandmaster,” “Hear Me,” and “Starry Tales” into short dramas and leveraging digital humans to achieve multi-language dubbing for overseas markets. Wuhan Caidianqu (蔡甸区) held discussions with Huashi Jituan (华视集团), indicating plans to explore cooperation projects in AI short dramas, embodied intelligence, and AI digital humans. Multiple listed companies have disclosed digital human-related business on interactive platforms: Gold Cabinet’s subsidiary once created the industry’s first home furnishings digital human IP “Jianchan Purple”; Yunnan Tourism’s subsidiary Huaqiaocheng Wenlv Keji (华侨城文旅科技)’s virtual image IP “Hilarious Sisters” leverages real-time facial expression capture and full-body motion capture technology to achieve real-time interactive live streaming with audiences; Tianyu Digital Technology (Dalian) Group Co., Ltd. has been listed as a virtual digital human concept hot stock; Shanghai Fengyuzhu Culture Technology Co., Ltd. and Silkroad Visual Technology Co., Ltd. also involve digital human technology support and production services, among which Silkroad Visual Technology Co., Ltd.’s invested company Ruiyun Keji (瑞云科技) previously participated in rendering for the film “The Wandering Earth”; Aotuo Dianzi (奥拓电子) participated in formulating the group standard “Technical Specification for Virtual Digital Humans Supporting Voice and Vision Interaction”; Gelisi (歌力思) previously launched the virtual character ELISA for social media dissemination; Guangxian Chuanmei (光线传媒)’s invested company Qiwei Keji (七维科技)’s virtual reality products include digital human technology; Hebei Broadcasting and Television Wireless Media under Hebei Radio and Television independently developed an AI-based digital human interactive system, completing image capture modeling, skeletal motion binding, and interactive engine development, enabling digital humans to be embedded in IPTV set-top boxes and OTT terminals. Sina News’s Zheng Qinwen (郑钦文) championship reporting video employed “Huiboxing (慧播星) digital human” technology for presentation.

Cultural Heritage : Anhui Huoshanxian Rong Meiti Zhongxin (霍山县融媒体中心) actively explores new technology applications such as AI digital human anchors in the construction of “1+3+N” omnichannel media distribution matrix; Xuzhou, Jiangsu Quanshanqu Dishan Jiedao (泉山区翟山街道) leverages grid groups and AI digital human “Xiaoqiao” to carry out civilized dog-raising publicity; Hubei Suizhou Liulinzhen (随州柳林镇) Mingyuzhen Jinianguan (明玉珍纪念馆) will introduce AI digital humans and immersive experience zones in June 2026, forming a “day-visit to ancestral home, night-stay in homestay” cultural tourism closed loop with surrounding homestays; Fujian Zhangzhou Kaifaqu (漳州开发区) arranges AI digital human on-site interactions in the “Remittance Letters Spanning Mountains and Seas” young employee socializing activities, integrating remittance letter cultural elements. At the Shandong level, Shandong Digital Culture Group has independently developed the Qilu Culture Large Model and the Confucius Digital Intelligence Large Model, launching “AI tour companion” services in museums in Linyi, Liaocheng, Zibo and other cities, where visitors can tap NFC identifier tags to receive intelligent explanations, 3D cultural relic displays, and AI cultural relic creation interactions; based on the Confucius Digital Intelligence Large Model, the XR film “Confucius·Golden Kite Wonderland” constructs a Confucian cultural experience closed loop of “online intelligent dialogue plus offline spatiotemporal immersion”; Wangshang Shandong Kangrizhanzhengjinianguan (网上山东抗日战争纪念馆) the new museum uses metaverse and artificial intelligence large models to allow visitors to have “face-to-face” exchanges with virtual revolutionary martyrs. Xixi District, Tianjin Dongdian Jiyi Zhuti Zhanguan (东淀记忆主题展馆) restores the image of young hero Zhang Xiangyu through digital human technology, with the digital human on screen wearing cloth garments and carrying an old rifle, engaging in real-time interactive question-and-answer with visitors holding “battlefield family letters,” bringing sleeping history to “life.”

Education : The “Third Generation AI Education” product GKK Zhineng Ti (GKK智能体) features “one-sentence fully automated course creation,” enabling teachers’ digital avatars to automatically complete lectures, interactive Q&A, and assessments while outputting accompanying resources including PPT slides, full transcripts, Q&A compilations, and exercise sets. It supports dual-teacher classroom instruction and after-class tutoring, and can extend to in-school teaching research and enrollment services, with content distributed through WeChat, Douyin (抖音) mini-programs, web pages, and apps. Changchunshi Dazhongxiaoxue Zhulao Zhonghuaminzu Gongtongti Yishi Jiaoyu Yitihua Lianmeng (长春市大中小学铸牢中华民族共同体意识教育一体化联盟) leverages Jilindaxue Yuke Jiaoyu Xueyuan (吉林大学预科教育学院) to establish the nation’s first VR virtual simulation course on “Introduction to the Chinese Nation Community” and digital human teaching resources, and implements the “AI Short Drama Project on Strengthening Consciousness of the Chinese Nation Community Across All Education Stages,” creating 18 AI short dramas tailored to different grade levels’ cognitive patterns to tell stories of the Chinese nation community. Beijingligongdaxue (北京理工大学) The School of Marxist Studies and the School of Artificial Intelligence jointly developed a “Chinese-style Modernization Exclusive Large Language Model” and vertical-domain intelligent agents, establishing three virtual simulation ideological and political courses: “State-Owned Enterprise Party Building Innovation and Governance Transformation,” “Yogyakarta-Jakarta High-Speed Railway Construction Experience,” and “Lighting Up ‘BeiDou’ on the Road to Rejuvenation,” and opened the Department of Education’s ilab platform virtual simulation experiments to Beijingligongdaxue (北京理工大学) affiliated middle schools and primary schools and other K-12 teachers, advancing the achievements of Haidian Education AI digital human “Shengshen” into the “University Support Package for K-12 Ideological and Political Teachers.”

Enterprise and Finance : Liangyuan (良缘) App built by entrepreneurs who left Kimi, featuring an “AI matchmaker” function where users are matched and assisted in ice-breaking communication by AI avatars and AI advisors, offering quarterly membership, lifetime membership, and insurance-based paid products. Wangshang Yinhang (网商银行) launched AI Agent Nong Xiaobao (农小宝) targeting the “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers” demographic, co-built with Nongye Nongcunbu Da Shuju Fazhan Zhongxin (农业农村部大数据发展中心), and as the government-designated second-round farmland contract renewal national e-signing platform has been piloted in over 20 provinces including Hubei, Hunan, Liaoning, and Jilin, where farmers can complete electronic contracts through facial recognition and signature, with AI digital humans providing full-process voice prompts to guide farmers through step-by-step confirmation, improving e-signing efficiency by 50%, and offering services such as reverse invoicing for agricultural products and crop disease diagnosis through photography. Lvmeng Keji (绿盟科技) unveiled Qingfeng Wei AI - DR (清风卫AI-DR) agent security capability upgrades at the “Clear Breeze Sweeping Borders·Intelligent Defense for Full Domains” agent security autumn results release conference, focusing on full-chain behavior audit of enterprise “digital employees,” data security for office assistant-class agents, and AI security gateway management, having previously released the Lvmeng Keji (绿盟科技) security digital human platform, building self-operated security digital human teams with Fengyun Wei (风云卫) as the core. In Shijiazhuang Qingyan Shuzhi Rengongzhineng OPC Shequ (清研数智人工智能OPC社区), Hebei’s first OPC (one-person company) community, Hebei Qi Dongnao Ji Jiekou Keji (河北契动脑机接口科技) cooperated with Huiboyuntong (慧博云通) to build an “AI digital employee all-in-one machine” leveraging Baode Jisuan (宝德计算) Kunpeng plus Ascend servers, with the “body end” single machine stably supporting 90 to 100 digital avatars and the “brain end” single eight-card Ascend server supporting loads of hundreds of active avatars.

Platforms and Products : VIRDYN has launched UElive, a real-time interactive software for virtual humans that supports real-time rendering and computation of diverse-style 3D virtual humans including hyperrealistic, next-generation, anime, and cartoon styles. The standard version comes with 8 pre-made digital human avatars and enables quick connection to motion capture devices and motion capture gloves, supporting 2D/3D scenes, AR mode, and custom multi-camera setups. It features a built-in virtual camera for one-click streaming integration with mainstream live streaming platforms, with application scenarios covering virtual anchors, virtual hosts, and “virtual human plus real person” interactive screen sharing. Meitu founder Wu Xinhong (吴欣鸿) introduced the company’s image product matrix at the “New Art China · Digital Art Boundless” conference, including the “Kaipai (开拍)” application that helps users produce spokesperson and marketing videos and create personalized AI digital humans; “MVLAND” for music video production; and “RoboNeo” for IP-based series creation. Faceu Technology launched an AI creation workbench Hub and intelligent editing assistant in September, with advanced AI features unlocked for SVIP super members including exclusive capabilities such as “AI digital humans.” Shenzhen Aoni Dianzi (深圳奥尼电子) participated in drafting the group standard “Technical Specification for Virtual Digital Humans Supporting Voice and Visual Interaction,” positioning itself as an intelligent audiovisual software and hardware solutions provider, promoting the extension of audio and video technology toward virtual digital human scenarios.

Ethical and Regulatory : In response to the proliferation of AI virtual influencers appearing in livestream shopping advertisements on online platforms, multiple legal experts and Caiyun Wangping (彩云网评), Jingji Guancha Wang (经济观察网) and other media commentaries have pointed out that AI virtual persons lack physiological perception capabilities and cannot complete “sufficient use” in the sense of advertising law, with first-person claims of “personally tested and effective” constituting suspected false advertising. The commentaries cite cases such as the AI virtual person “Fang Taozi” endorsing contact lenses and impersonating “medical workers” and “domain experts” to promote pharmaceutical and health products, noting that State Administration for Market Regulation has investigated and handled typical cases of AI virtual persons engaging in livestream shopping with false advertising claiming ordinary food products have health benefits, calling for clarification of which product categories must feature real persons, adoption of classified management distinguishing “objective display type” and “testimonial proof type,” and establishment of a responsibility piercing mechanism of “whoever operates bears responsibility.” Zhong Xin Jingwei (中新经纬) reporters conducted tests and discovered that by inputting prompts into AI video generation platforms such as Keling (可灵), fictitious “doctor” images wearing white coats recommending antihypertensive drugs and health products can be generated in approximately two minutes without interception, while Ji Meng (即梦), Doubao (豆包), and MiniMax block similar requests, though Doubao (豆包) may still generate violations with milder language after multiple rounds of dialogue. Lawyers point out that such AI digital persons lack independent legal personality, with responsibility piercing through to advertisers, production companies, and operators.

Automotive : Biyadi (比亚迪股份有限公司) Applied for a patent on “in-vehicle digital human display method, controller and vehicle” with publication number CN122902874A, enabling the coordinated display of a complete digital human across the smart agent and display screen, wherein the smart agent displays the digital human’s head status while the in-vehicle display screen’s target area synchronously displays its torso features. Xiaomi Qiche Keji (小米汽车科技有限公司) Concurrently applied for a patent on “display method, apparatus, vehicle and storage medium” with publication number CN122902952A, which enables responsive animation resources to move and display across multiple in-vehicle screens, determines the virtual image display position while coordinating with the cabin’s image capture device, and establishes spatial mapping relationships between the virtual image display position and the cabin’s true visual perception perspective, enhancing spatial consistency and environmental integration of multi-screen interaction.

Digital Immortality : Musician Bao Xiaobai (包小柏) spent two years collecting vocal prints, video footage, and personality data of his daughter before her death from illness, creating a “digital daughter” capable of real-time conversation and singing birthday songs; SenseTime used AI technology to “resurrect” a deceased founder Tang Xiaoou (汤晓鸥), enabling him to deliver a speech at the company’s annual meeting with tone, facial expressions, and mannerisms highly reproduced.

Face Licensing Platforms : AI facial authorization trading platforms targeting ordinary people have emerged successively. Xinzhao AIGC (新爪AIGC) claims to support 24/7 full-network monitoring, blockchain evidence preservation and automated infringement handling, with materials tiered and priced according to uses such as film and television advertising, print modeling, film and television dramas, and gaming animation, with price ranges between 500 to 10,000 yuan. The platform prompts users that they can choose not to authorize use for themes such as “death scenes” and “intimate scenes,” and supports offline store portrait collection, having established 14 collection points across 11 cities including Chongqing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Qingdao. Mirafans Jingjie (Mirafans镜界) founder Eula introduced that it segments portrait authorization into identity verification, use scope agreement, electronic authorization document signing and image confirmation, with registered users surpassing 10,000 and total images exceeding 3,000, reference pricing uniformly set at 1,000 yuan per film and television production, 500 yuan per month for e-commerce, and 1,500 yuan per TVC advertisement. Yuanxiang Xinsheng (元相新生) founder Liu Xiao (刘啸) stated that the platform designed a phased confirmation agreement system, distinguishing the “digital actor certificate” for material library entry from the “single-project authorization confirmation document” for specific projects, emphasizing that the platform functions more as providing an entrance to “be seen and be selected” rather than guaranteeing monetization contracts. Previously disclosed cases from the Xinzhua platform showed that a bank employee’s portrait was purchased seven times by advertising companies within three days of upload, with single authorization fees of 500 yuan per transaction, and the platform completed nearly 70 transactions within two months of launch. Multiple users told Southern Metropolis Daily reporters that after uploading facial images they received no orders for extended periods, with the platform admitting that current demand from production companies is limited and cannot guarantee that every user will successfully close deals.