The use of artificial intelligence technology in Chinese show business

Tun Chzhantsin' ORCID: 0009-0003-3165-8593 Postgraduate student, Department of Theory and History of Culture, St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture 191186, Russia, Leningrad region, Saint Petersburg, nab. Dvortsovaya, 2 tongzhangqin1@yandex.ru

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has taken root in many areas of life: transport, medicine, education, finance, defense and manufacturing. When it comes to assessing the long-term effects of using this technology, the general opinion is that AI and automation lead to an increase in budget funds in individual states and simplify a huge number of industrial processes. At the same time, it leads to an increase in inequality, discrimination and unemployment. However, an analysis of publications by various authors suggests that the impact of AI on culture is rarely discussed. This omission is inexplicable, especially when you take into account the fact that AI is already being used to create songs, literary works and paintings, often of amazing quality, which raises important questions about the future of art, artist rewards, the integrity of the creative chain, and so on. The above facts indicate the relevance of this work, the purpose of which is to analyze how AI technology is used in Chinese show business.

An analysis of the special literature suggests that representatives of the scientific community began to actively refer to the term "artificial intelligence" in the early sixties of the twentieth century ^[1]. However, it was only in 1969 at the "International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence", held in Washington, that the concept received worldwide recognition. At this conference, experts tried to get an answer to the question of how electronic computing power can be used in activities involving the modeling of human creative competencies.

Despite the fact that scientists interpret the content of the term "AI" in different ways, they can all be reduced to the following definition. AI is an artificial system that simulates the process in which a person solves complex tasks due to the specifics of the external environment. The main problem lies in the "imitating" nature of this machine activity, since a system that solves specifically human tasks does it in a different way from a human one. In the framework of this work, we will adhere to this definition.

G. A. Ioakimidi, as part of his research, analyzed the basic concepts related to the sphere of show business ^[2]. In particular, he defines "show business" itself (from English "show business") as a commercial activity taking place in the entertainment sector. Most often, this concept is used in relation to:

- those companies and organizations that produce and distribute video and audio products (most often we are talking about entertainment content);

- to media actors, musicians and athletes whose activities bring financial profit related to their personality and lifestyle;

- theater, music and film industries, which, in addition to the entertainment function, have the ability to bring financial profit.

Thus, artificial intelligence in show business is an artificial system that simulates the human solution of complex tasks within the framework of commercial activities in the entertainment industry. At the same time, it is necessary to say that the attitude of the leadership of the People's Republic of China to this technology is specific, which is reflected in the country's regulatory legal acts. We will focus on this in more detail.

In March 2016, the Google DeepMind AI, designed to play the board game go (AlphaGo), defeated L. Sedol, a South Korean professional go player ^[5]. At that time, Sedol took second place in terms of the number of wins at the international go championships, but lost to AlphaGo with a score of four games to one. If the match received little coverage in the West, then in China it became the main event, which was watched live by more than two hundred and eighty million people. According to K. F. Lee, two Chinese government insiders called this match the reason for the further development of AI in the country ^{[13, p. 3]}. Although AI initiatives have been conducted in the PRC before, AlphaGo's victory contributed to increased attention from the Chinese leadership to this topic, as evidenced by the 2017 "Plan for the Development of a new Generation of Artificial Intelligence" (hereinafter - AIDP) ^[15].

The main goal formulated in the text of the document is to turn China into a global center of innovation in the field of AI by 2030 and make AI the main driving force allowing for long-term modernization of industry and positive economic transformations in the country. The document also highlights the importance of using AI in a wider range of sectors, including defense and social security, and emphasizes the need to develop standards and ethical standards for the use of this technology. Overall, the plan represents a comprehensive AI strategy and challenges other major powers in many key areas. The "Development Plan" identifies three key stages, each of which includes a number of goals, some of which are rigidly defined, while others are more vague: 

- by 2020, China intends to maintain competitiveness in the field of AI and optimize the conditions for its further development. In monetary terms, China intends to create an AI industry worth more than one hundred and fifty billion yuan (about twenty-one billion US dollars);

- by 2025, China intends to achieve a "major breakthrough" in the basic theory of AI and become a world leader in some areas of application. The country's leadership plans to increase the value of its core AI industry to more than four hundred billion yuan (about fifty-eight billion US dollars), as well as expand and legislate ethical standards in the field of AI; 

- by 2030, China aims to become a global center of innovation in the field of AI. By this time, the growth of the core AI industry is expected to more than double to one trillion yuan (about one hundred and forty-seven billion US dollars), and further improvement of laws and standards is expected to solve newly emerging problems.

The provisions set out in the regulatory legal act have a significant impact, including on Chinese show business. Thus, one of the key areas of AI use is "virtual and augmented reality", which includes the following technologies: high-performance software modeling, shooting and content generation, augmented reality, integrated environment and tools, virtual display devices. We believe that most of the technologies presented above are reflected in Chinese show business. In particular, within the framework of this work, "virtual twins" are of interest, in the process of creating which AI implements the following actions ^[4]: collects data using sensors, scanners and cameras, which allows you to obtain information about the physical properties of an object, after which the data is stored and processed on cloud servers; the data is analyzed, which is carried out using appropriate algorithms to identify correlations and patterns, AI understands the logic of how a physical object functions; a model is generated based on three—dimensional modeling and visualization technology, which allows you to create a digital model of an object in conditions of high accuracy and detail; the model is synchronized with AI; at the stage of "simulation and optimization" of AI uses machine learning and other methods to simulate various scenarios and conditions for a digital model.

Further, it is necessary to divide the following concepts among themselves: "virtual idols", "digital avatars" and "virtual influencers". From a technical point of view, they do not differ, since artificial intelligence technology is used to create each of them. However, they differ significantly in their scope of application. We focus on each of them.

1. Virtual idols: represent media personalities generated using artificial intelligence technology. The most popular digital idol worldwide is Hatsune Miku, a virtual J-Pop diva who is an anthropomorphic 3D model using voice synthesizer technology. A number of researchers, among whom it is necessary to mention X. Khan and his colleagues considered virtual idols as a new tool in the field of entertainment, which, although it does not have a living body, but has fan support ^[10]. In particular, among the reasons why large media companies began to abandon real music stars, it should be noted the following: virtual idols are permanent, able to consistently meet the expectations of the audience, interactive. In other words, virtual idols are artificial intelligence—generated models with anthropomorphic appearance, whose behavior depends entirely on the needs of the subjects controlling them. 

In recent years, the virtual idol industry in China has become popular. According to the Virtual idols report released by the Chinese streaming giant iQiyi, sixty-four percent of people between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four are fans of the activities of virtual idols. The average monthly time spent watching idol clips live on "Bilibili" has increased by two hundred and twenty-five percent ^[16].  

Although virtual idols have a low cost, they can bring great profits. For example, a virtual idol called "Xiangwan Big Devil" can earn ten thousand yuan (about fifteen hundred US dollars) for one live video with virtual girls from the group "A-Soul". Videos on her birthday allow you to make a profit of one hundred and fifty-five thousand yuan ^[16]. In addition to the profits earned from video life, the A-Soul group also has its peripheral products for sale and videos that they post on Bilibili, the Chinese equivalent of YouTube.

2. Digital avatars: digital avatars, like virtual idols, are anthropomorphic 3D models created on the basis of AI technology. According to K. L. Novak and K. Fong, initially "avatars" meant computer-generated visual images of individual Internet users in the virtual world ^[9],[14]. Along with the development of online business, avatars are gradually becoming a popular marketing tool and are widely used in various business areas, for example, by sales managers, website guides, customer service agents, which leads to the growth of avatar-based marketing. The problem is that to date there is no consensus on their exact definition, which makes it difficult for researchers to compare empirical results or meaningful conclusions in different studies. In this regard, based on a review of the literature, we have identified three key elements of any digital avatar: an anthropomorphic appearance, the presence of a controlling subject, and interactivity.

Thus, the difference between "virtual idols" and "digital avatars" is that the latter are copies of real people. Today, this technology is actively used in the Chinese show business. In 2019, four famous human presenters - Beining Sa, Xun Zhu, Bo Gao and Yang Long - were joined by an "artificial copy" of themselves - in fact, their own digital double ^[6].

In 2022, the Chinese TV channel CCTV introduced a new virtual presenter based on AI technology for one of its news TV shows. Every Monday, the presenter, known as Xiao Xi, presents sports events such as football, basketball, volleyball and swimming on the TV channel. Dressed in a pink T-shirt with her hair tied in a bun, Xiao Xi interacts with human sports commentators, talks about the tactics of the game and asks questions to the audience. Baidu developed it as an early example of the virtual people market, which QbitAI predicts will be worth thirty-eight and a half billion US dollars by 2030. According to QbitAI, these revenues will be generated from virtual celebrities and virtual people focused on providing services. "Thanks to breakthroughs in algorithms based on artificial intelligence, the cost of producing digital people will decrease by 10-100 times, and the production period will be reduced from several months to several hours," a Baidu representative told the China Daily newspaper in September 2022. Among other things, in August 2022, the Chinese government launched an action plan to develop the digital people sector and create one or two leading virtual people manufacturing companies by 2025 ^[3].

3. Virtual influencers (hereinafter referred to as VI). They are digital personalities on social media platforms created to exert a certain influence on the audience ^[12]. Being a new type of influencers on social networks, their digital copies have now become familiar to consumers as virtual models advertising certain brands. They perform the same function as human influencers. They have specific goals and areas of expertise, they can attract followers with content and interact with them online. In addition, they can influence the behavior of the audience when buying in the same way as human authorities. They have characteristics similar to virtual idols and digital twins: the presence of an anthropomorphic appearance, the presence of a controlling subject, interactivity.

Although there are many different forms of AI, the first computer AI in China was Ling, launched in May 2020 by the Chinese AI startup Shanghai Xmov Information Technology and Beijing Cishi Culture Media Company ^[7]. Ling was created as a resident of Beijing, combining Chinese beauty with modern style. She has pale skin, a pointed chin and dark straight hair with a bun. It attracts more than a million subscribers on Weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter), especially the younger generation, who prefer the latest fashion trends and receiving entertainment content.

Like other WEE, Ling strives to support commercial brands, participate in live broadcasts, and online events. She advertised a wide range of products, including cars, watches, milk tea and fashion. Among the brands that she supports, the following should be noted: Tesla, Bulgari, Vogue, Lanc?me and the Nayuki chain of milk tea stores. Unlike other influencers, Ling is not interested in social events, but is portrayed as a cultural ambassador designed to showcase China's rich culture and soft power. Ling's team also created content based on these characteristics on social media platforms, for example, demonstrating her abilities for the Beijing Opera.

Culture plays an important role in the process of forming national identity, since the sense of national identity is located in an extensive cultural network consisting of various images, ideas, discourses and practices ^{[8, p. 100-102]}. We believe that national identity includes cultural factors, which include the language system and the division of common views on a number of fundamental issues. For this reason, the promotion of the culture of a nation is able to cultivate national identity, since a person becomes who he really is by associating himself with a certain cultural space.

In relation to China, traditional culture plays an important role in shaping people's sense of national identity and serves as a means of protecting Chinese culture from the alleged influence of Westernization (globalization). Thus, given that Ling has a unique cultural identity, it is a reflection of collective Chinese ideas about the specifics of national identity. The problem lies in the fact that in recent years there has been an increase in nationalist sentiments in China associated with the promotion of the idea of superiority by the Communist Party of China as the dominant instrument of legitimization, which, according to the leadership, should help to resist undesirable market and social transformations ^[11].

In Ling's case, her fans are initially attracted by her own uniqueness and the entertaining content she posts. However, due to the greater amount of cultural content that Lin shares and the more distinct cultural identity that she forms, gradually fans of this entertainment are uniting and can begin to broadcast nationalistic ideas based on the superiority of the Chinese nation over others.

On the other hand, we should talk about some objectification and stereotyping of Chinese women due to the use of the virtual Ling influencer. For example, some Weibo users criticize her appearance, which fits into the Western stereotype of a Chinese woman: a flat face and eyelids with one fold, which do not reflect the image of a real Chinese woman. At the same time, as a virtual influencer who declared himself as a "multifaceted girl who loves Chinese traditional culture" (indicated in Ling's profile on Weibo), Ling enhances the national image. In addition, fans support Ling on Weibo, which promotes Chinese culture and traditions, which in turn strengthens their national identity.

Based on the above, we conclude that artificial intelligence technology is currently actively used in the Chinese show business. The reason for this state of affairs should be considered a government policy aimed at achieving the ambitious goal of becoming a global center for AI innovation by 2030. In particular, the document "Plan for the development of a new generation of artificial intelligence" indicates that the following technologies are of particular importance: shooting and content generation, augmented reality, integrated environment and tools, virtual display devices. An analysis of specialized literature and media publications suggests that these technologies are actively used in Chinese show business to create virtual idols, digital avatars and virtual influencers. As an example, the following should be cited: the virtual idol "Xiangwan Big Devil", artificial digital copies of B. Sa, S. Zhu, B. Gao, Ya. Long, virtual presenter Xiao Xi, virtual influencer Ling. Despite the fact that virtual idols and digital avatars are mainly used for profit, the following should be noted about virtual influencers, in particular about Ling. They not only help to make a profit, but also enhance the national image, unite the Chinese people.