"Acting for 60 Seconds Earns 52 Million Won"... The True Identity of the Drama Protagonist Who Took Jobs from Actors

Turning the Appearance and Voice of Popular Actors into Digital Assets

Concerns Rise That AI Actors Are Crowding Actors Out

In China's entertainment industry, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is increasingly transforming actors' appearances and voices into "digital assets." As the market rapidly changes with the open licensing of celebrity likeness rights and the emergence of AI actors, issues such as the reduction of jobs for actors and staff, and the unauthorized misuse of portraits, are coming to the fore.

AI Actor 'Pang Taoz'. Baidu China.

On September 1, the Chinese current affairs weekly Nanfengchuang reported, "With advances in AI technology turning faces into a form of digital asset, we are entering an era in which ordinary people can monetize their likeness rights." Recently, on social networking services (SNS), the case of a bank employee earning 2,500 yuan (about 510,000 won) in profits after selling the rights to their face for three days and seven deals has gone viral.

Popular Actors Permit AI Use of Their Image… Digital Avatars Debut

Wang Joohyun created by AI. Screenshot from the game "Cheonha" advertisement video "Cheonyeong".

Chinese popular actor Qi Wei. Baidu China.

Such cases of "face monetization" began in the entertainment industry. Last month, Chinese popular actor Qi Wei introduced her digital alter ego "Han Qingxia" via SNS and announced she would open AI rights to her image. In addition to Qi Wei, actors such as Wang Joohyun and Wu Jihua have also released so-called "digital avatars" generated by AI, marking a significant transformation in China's entertainment sector. Wang Joohyun appeared in her prime-era form in "Cheonyeong," an advertisement video for the game "Cheonha," receiving great applause from fans. Wu Jihua has also authorized the production of AI films utilizing her portrait rights, with the production company planning to use AI to restore her appearance from her twenties for the movie.

Regarding this trend of popular actors opening their portrait (appearance) rights, media outlets have analyzed it as "a proactive response strategy amid the trend of AI overtaking the video content industry."

Issues Deepen: Black Markets and Portrait Rights Infringement

However, the surge in AI content has cast a shadow. Viewers report fatigue due to similarly repetitive expressions, awkward movements, and clichéd developments in works featuring AI. A black market has even formed to exploit celebrities' faces and voices, further intensifying problems such as the infringement of portrait rights.

Some production companies are recruiting "AI live-action actors" through SNS, purchasing the faces of ordinary people or aspiring actors for a fee to use in projects. This is interpreted as an attempt to increase diversity in the appearances of characters featured in their works. Steou, an AI director who started as a short-form actor, said, "Even without referring to a specific person, the characteristics of AI generation leave an impression similar to popular actors, so I keep adjusting the prompts." As more AI-produced content emerges, job concerns are growing not only among actors but also among production companies, filming staff, and extras.

Controversy Escalates with the Advent of AI Actors

AI actor 'Pang Taoz'. Baidu, China.

Amid these changes, criticism is rising that virtual actors created by AI are even depriving celebrities of their positions in the industry. The AI actor "Pang Taoz," the protagonist of the AI short drama "The Laid-Off Girl," attracted 400,000 followers just 30 days after debuting. According to data released by ByteDance, Pang Taoz's appearance fee is 168,000 yuan (about 34,186,000 won) for 1-20 seconds, 208,000 yuan (about 42,330,000 won) for 21-60 seconds, and 258,000 yuan (about 52,410,000 won) for more than 60 seconds of screen time.

Copyright specialist Zhang Tingyuan said, "Moving another person's heart through emotion-based acting is a domain only humans can possess," adding, "In the AI era, whether humans can maintain their primacy will be the key question for the future of the content industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.