00:00Chinese actress Chi Wei has created a digital version of herself for AI-generated films.
00:07She is one of the first mainstream Chinese actors to license her digital likeness.
00:12Our correspondent Siobhan McCall has more, at least I think it's Siobhan, or are you
00:15an avatar?
00:16That is the question, Juliette.
00:18Well, this is Chi Wei's digital twin, who is playing Han Qing Xia, the star of AI comic
00:25drama Endless Summer Apocalypse.
00:27To create the avatar, designers use images and videos of Chi Wei from across her acting
00:33career.
00:34So it's a way for actors to potentially star in one film in real life and use their digital
00:40twin to appear in another, like here.
00:43And it can also extend actors' careers and open up other career paths.
00:4962-year-old Hong Kong actor Lawrence Ng, for example, has sold the rights to his likeness
00:54to a production company, which has recreated a 20-year-old version of him using AI.
01:00And this comes as China's AI micro drama industry is experiencing rapid growth.
01:06More than 95% of new releases in the last six months have been AI generated.
01:12And it's big business because the AI short drama market is projected to hit close to $6 billion
01:18in value this year, after generating more than $3 billion in profit in just five months.
01:24Well, Kelsey Farish is a media and entertainment lawyer.
01:27Kelsey, welcome to the program.
01:29How significant do you think that this could be as a business model for actors to have these
01:34digital avatars?
01:36As a business model, it's a really exciting opportunity because it allows actors to do
01:42projects that maybe they wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.
01:45But the other thing too is that it means that producers and audiences get a chance to see
01:51these actors in more content. So it's actually, it can be a win-win for everyone involved,
01:57provided that the rights are protected.
02:00One thing that struck me is while this could be a great plan for experienced actors that
02:05we recognize, what about young ones that are trying to break through? Is that blocking off
02:09entry opportunities for them?
02:12It can in some ways, but I would argue that those roles, they fulfill different objectives, right?
02:20If you are a young actor who's trying to break into a scene and you have a particular skill set
02:25or a particular look, just because a different actor has a digital avatar doesn't necessarily
02:30mean that they're going to take that job away from you. What I would say to those who are starting
02:35out in the industry is it is never too early to do what you can to protect your likeness.
02:42This is what the whole licensing regime is about. It's so that we have some proper mechanisms in
02:48place to pay people and to respect their wishes when it comes to the use of AI and their likeness.
02:53So do you think these digital replicas of established actors have a stronger future in
02:59industry than say just actors entirely created by AI?
03:04I think at the end of the day, most audiences, when they go to see a film or even a
03:10micro drama,
03:11you know, the verticals are becoming more and more popular. I think there's something resonant
03:16and special about knowing that who you are seeing is actually a real person. Yes, they might be
03:22modified with CGI or VFX or even sophisticated AI technologies, but we still know that we are seeing
03:29a real person rather than a synthetic human that doesn't actually exist. And I think that audiences
03:35do care about that. You mentioned there about the AI micro dramas. They are booming in China,
03:41and they're also helping with cutting production costs, cutting production times. But what are the
03:45drawbacks of these? The drawbacks of the micro dramas, I think, is that a lot of the detail gets muddied.
03:53And because there's so much content being pushed out at such a rapid rate, some people kind of look
03:59over the very real fine print or the things that should be in fine print, things like intellectual
04:05property, reputation, dignity, payment mechanisms, and so on. It's really tempting sometimes, especially
04:12for filmmakers or producers to say, right, let's take an image of this person and we're going to make
04:16some AI crazy thing, and we're just going to create a micro drama or turn out two minutes worth of
04:21content. It's going to go viral. And because they're doing it so quickly, they have a tendency
04:26to perhaps pass over the fact that, well, actually, there's a real person there or a real writer that
04:31we need to pay attention to and hopefully pay properly. And that's what my whole practice is
04:36about, is empowering storytellers and performers to slow down a little bit and make sure that they
04:42can protect themselves and get the credit and payments that they deserve.
04:46And what about for viewers who are so important to the industry? Do you think they'll become
04:49more comfortable with AI generated actors and content going forward?
04:55I'm not sure if they'll become more comfortable with it necessarily. I do think that human replicas
05:01and digital replicas and avatars and so on, they are the thing that people are most uneasy about.
05:06What I would say is, let's test the market. Let's see what audiences react to. But ultimately,
05:12we have to be very clear with labeling and transparency. So what I mean by that is,
05:18sure, once you get the requisite rights in place with the performer and you agree properly to create
05:24some sort of AI avatar of them, don't forget about your audience. And this is exactly what you just
05:28hinted at. We need to be labeling this content. We need to be telling people that what they're seeing
05:33is AI content modified or generated from scratch. Kelsey, thank you. Kelsey Farish,
05:39media and entertainment lawyer. And back to you, Julia.
05:42Kelsey, thank you.
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