China's film and television industry has begun vigorously promoting AI-produced dramas, causing a stir within the field. Online rumors claim that 'all roles except for the main two male leads will be replaced by AI actors,' sparking heated discussions. Shortly after, a production company announced yesterday (the 18th) the debut of two AI actors under its banner, as well as the establishment of Xiaohongshu and Douyin social media accounts for them. Netizens were shocked: 'The world has finally gone mad in ways I couldn't imagine.' Meanwhile, the faces of these AI actors were questioned for allegedly combining the facial features of several well-known actors—raising concerns that this involves image rights disputes.
The production company Yaoke Media, known for many popular Chinese dramas and with an artist management division, announced yesterday with much fanfare that it has added two AI actors, 'Lin Xiyan' and 'Qin Lingyue,' to its roster. The female actor's features are sharp, with a high nose bridge and deep, clear, double-lidded eyes of European style; the male actor has a pronounced jawline, sword-like brows, starry eyes, and an impressive high-bridged nose. Both introduced themselves to the public and recommended their new dramas, and have already opened Xiaohongshu and Douyin accounts.
However, the two AI actors immediately faced backlash. They were suspected of using the facial features of several top Chinese celebrities to create a 'merged face.' Female actor 'Lin Xiyan' was alleged to be a blend of the facial features of Zhao Jinmai, Zhang Zifeng, Liang Jie, and other actresses, with netizens joking that she has a 'face made up of a crowd.' The male actor 'Qin Lingyue' was said to closely resemble male star Zhai Zilu. Some netizens even tagged Zhao Jinmai's studio, imploring them to defend their rights.
Chinese netizens have voiced strong opposition to the rise of AI actors, leaving comments such as, 'The world has finally gone mad in ways I couldn't imagine—this means competition will only get tougher, jobs harder to find, and it might even become hard to support oneself,' 'The male actor's face is completely merged with Zhai Zilu's, and the female actor looks like a blend of Zhang Zifeng and Liang Jie—it's all a low-budget version, what are they even doing,' 'Well, then find some AI viewers, use AI to generate data, have AI buy memberships and spend money, don't use real people, and don't even think about making money off us,' and 'If it's all AI, couldn't the visuals be better? I mean, AI's acting skills are still far from there, so is your only selling point lower costs?' Others, however, commented that 'these two will never have a scandal and will never have a blemish on their record.'
Source: ETTODAY