growing \u201cdigital human\u201d industry<\/span><\/a> that China is moving to govern more tightly.<\/p>\nVideos featuring AI digital humans are ubiquitous on Chinese social media, with their uncanny features and smooth, dexterous motions often used to tout products.<\/p>\n
The nation\u2019s cyberspace regulator issued draft rules in April on how these avatars are developed and deployed, seeking to stop them from harming children, threatening social stability or being created to resemble someone without their consent.<\/p>\n
Ms Zhang, 47, approached the company Super Brain two years ago, feeling depressed and lonely following her bereavement.<\/p>\n
She can now converse online with her father\u2019s avatar, something that made her feel \u201cfully recharged in an instant and filled with motivation once again\u201d, she told AFP.<\/p>\n
Some friends worried Ms Zhang would become too immersed in the virtual world and \u201cnever be able to move on\u201d, calling it a form of \u201cfalse comfort\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut even if the comfort itself is simulated, the love behind it is real,\u201d added Ms Zhang, who is based in Liaoning province.<\/p>\n
State news agency Xinhua reported in 2025 that the country\u2019s digital human industry was worth around 4.1 billion yuan (S$764 million) in 2024, having grown by 85 per cent year on year. <\/p>\n
Chinese governance of new digital technologies has always followed the logic of \u201cdevelop first, then regulate, and perfect in the process\u201d, said Associate Professor Marina Zhang, from the University of Technology Sydney.<\/p>\n
The regulations proposed by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) require clear labelling on digital human content.<\/p>\n
They also prohibit using personal information to create deepfake clones of individuals without their consent.<\/p>\n
Super Brain founder Zhang Zewei said that he sees new laws and regulation on the sector as \u201cinevitable\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI view this as a positive development, as it achieves a balance between standardised regulation and industry growth,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n
The company specialises in creating AI avatars of the dead for grieving families.<\/p>\n
A video clip of an elderly woman who unknowingly chatted with a hyper-realistic avatar of her dead son was widely shared on Chinese social media in April, with a related hashtag garnering more than 90 million views on Weibo.<\/p>\n
The avatar, created by Mr Zhang\u2019s firm, mimicked her son\u2019s speech patterns and his movements so closely that she believed it was him on a video call.<\/p>\n
It sparked heated online discussion about the ethics of generative AI, with some people calling for more regulation to prevent bad actors such as scammers from misusing powerful new tools.<\/p>\n
The woman\u2019s family approached Super Brain after her son died in a car accident, Mr Zhang told AFP.<\/p>\n
It was a \u201cwell-intentioned lie\u201d, he said, adding that Super Brain always obtains consent from family members of the deceased.<\/p>\n
The CAC regulations \u2013 open for public comment until early May \u2013 mark China\u2019s latest attempt to balance its technology ambitions with efforts to prevent unfettered development that could prove risky.<\/p>\n
Violations will be punished in accordance with the law, with potential fines of 10,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan, the CAC said.<\/p>\n
Previously, the CAC has clamped down on the use of AI-generated deepfakes that impersonate public figures in e-commerce livestreams, which it said \u201cseverely damaged\u201d the online ecosystem.<\/p>\n
One goal for China of imposing new tech regulations is to preserve its \u201csovereignty and political objectives\u201d, said Mr Manoj Harjani, a research fellow at Singapore\u2019s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.<\/p>\n
Under the draft rules, digital humans are prohibited from generating or disseminating content that endangers national security or incites subversion of state power.<\/p>\n
To protect children, the CAC regulations ban services offering minors virtual intimate relationships, or that encourage them to \u201cdevelop extreme emotions, or cultivate harmful habits\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeijing wants to move quickly on AI adoption and deployment, but within a controlled framework,\u201d said Dr Lizzi Lee from the Asia Society Policy Institute.<\/p>\n
There is strong support for scaling new technologies \u2013 but once \u201crisks become visible\u201d, Dr Lee added, regulators step in quickly. AFP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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