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AI opens new creative doors, raises new concerns across China’s screen industry_我的网站

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    Staff members work on a short-form drama in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang Province, on July 21, 2026. Photo: VCG
Open Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and AI-generated short dramas are hard to miss.
The stories span almost every genre familiar to Chinese audiences, from fantasy and immortal cultivation to urban romance and period tales.
The biggest difference is that the actors, settings and even many of the visual elements are generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
One of the latest hits is The Inverse Zone, an original mystery-thriller about monsters that has been dubbed an AI version of Stranger Things. The series has released three episodes so far, each receiving more than 1 million likes on Douyin.
Yet the team behind it consists of just three people, all born after 2000.
While Hollywood is still catching up with the short drama boom, China's short-drama industry is already moving into the AI era.
For many young creators, AI is not just another tool - it is a door that small teams could never have opened before.
"We've always wanted to make professional film and television content, with visual language, complete storytelling and a cinematic feel," Hu Hai, a member of the team behind The Inverse Zone, told the Global Times. "But the cost and barriers of live-action production were too high. Small teams had little chance to realize high-quality film and television projects."
As increasingly capable domestic AI models emerged, that door began to open. "The maturity of AI creative tools made us see new possibilities," Hu said.
The explosive growth of AI-generated short dramas is a double-edged sword: It opens doors for some, but leaves many in the industry uncertain about what comes next. Many actors who once benefited from the short-drama boom are now finding work increasingly scarce, with some turning to other professions. Meanwhile, the use of celebrities likenesses in AI-generated content (AIGC) has ignited a fresh wave of debate.
Where is the industry headed next? Global Times reporters spoke with AI creators, short-drama actors and industry experts about the opportunities and uncertainties ahead.
         Screenshots from the AI-generated microdrama The Inverse Zone Photo: Courtesy of Hu Hai
Lowering barriers

Hu studied directing and filmmaking in college. His team initially focused on short comedy videos, a field with relatively low production costs and less barriers to entry. But after years of producing this type of content, they eventually reached a creative plateau. That began to shift as more advanced AI tools came onto the scene.
To produce The Inverse Zone, the team used domestic video-generation models Seedance 2.0 and 2.5. The series took nearly two months to prepare, including world-building, character design and establishing a consistent visual style. "Seedance is the best in the world. It's extremely advanced. There's no model in Europe or the US that is more useful than it," Hu told the Global Times.
The technology does not mean production is effortless, however.
According to Hu, a typical episode costs around 4,000 to 5,000 yuan ($593-$741) to produce, while episodes involving large-scale scenes, complex special effects or demanding lighting and rendering can cost more than 10,000 yuan.
The team used AI for image generation, basic voice work and material rendering, while humans remained responsible for the script, character development, cinematography and post-production.
"The soul of the entire series is still controlled by people," Hu said. "All the key creative decisions are manually adjusted and repeatedly reviewed."
Ya Cen, operations head of AI video platform LibTV, told the Global Times that the AI short-drama ecosystem is now characterized by small teams, high productivity and strong individual styles. "The most direct value of AIGC is that it has lowered the geographic and financial barriers to film and television production," she added.
    Screenshots from the AI-generated microdrama The Inverse Zone Photo: Courtesy of Hu Hai
Actors in AI era
Yet the rise of AI short dramas is also creating new tensions.
AI-generated characters are now building fanbases, landing brand endorsements, and being described as the next generation of digital stars. At the same time, many celebrities including Taiwan actress Joey Wong have reportedly given permission for their younger likenesses to be used in AIGC.
The impact extends beyond celebrity likenesses. It is also being felt by people who once benefited from China's booming live-action short-drama industry.
The short-drama boom created opportunities for large numbers of actors, many of whom could quickly become recognizable faces. However, as AI-generated productions expand, some performers are finding fewer acting opportunities and turning to other professions.
Chongqing native Luo Xinyuan, 21, has experienced that shift firsthand.
She spent more than a year in Hengdian, East China's Zhejiang Province as a short-drama actress. Since May, she has worked at a scenic area playing Huang Rong, a character from a classic Chinese martial arts novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes.
"When short dramas were at their peak, there were lots of fast-paced, feel-good stories," Luo told the Global Times. "But that kind of content is difficult to sustain. Without richer and more meaningful stories, the pressure from AI short dramas will make things even harder."
For many short-drama actors, the disruption is likely to be structural rather than an immediate wholesale replacement, Zhang Peng, a cultural researcher and associate professor at Nanjing Normal University, told the Global Times. The question of celebrity likenesses may prove even more complicated.
Zhang warned that unrestricted authorization could raise concerns over control and revenue sharing. Without clearer rules, the technology could put further pressure on ordinary actors.
The next stage may not be a choice between humans and machines, but a new production model in which the two increasingly work together.
For creators such as Hu, that possibility is already here.
"AI has finally given young creators like us the opportunity to realize the film and television dreams we've had for years," he said.
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B |     加拿大收藏家 Emilio Kihien 在警方表示“无能为力”帮助他追回价值 4000 美元的被盗 宝可梦传说：阿尔宙斯 卡牌后，决定亲自采取行动。Kihien 当时正在高贵林的家中进行一次他认为标准的交易，出售几张经过高分评级、官方封装的 宝可梦传说：阿尔宙斯 trading cards。

C | 然而，买家递给他 4000 美元假钞后，夺走货物逃跑。Kihien 随即展开追赶，甚至一度抓住了窃贼逃跑车辆的侧面，随后摔落在公路上，导致身上多处淤青和严重的擦伤。他随后联系了警方，但据他称，当局表示“无能为力”帮助他追回被盗财产。根据 Kihien 的说法，一名警员甚至告诉他，最好尝试自己去抓住罪犯。

D | “警方的反应——他们看起来真的不想帮我太多。其中一名警员字面上就是说：‘如果是我，我可能会尝试自己设局抓他们，’”他告诉当地媒体 CTV News。几天后，Kihien 的一位朋友在网上发现了一则被盗卡牌的出售信息。窃贼甚至使用了 Kihien 原始帖子中完全相同的照片。“我当时就在想，你们知道吗，这些人肯定不是最聪明的那类人，”他评论道。

E | Kihien 和他的朋友们迅速行动，伪装成感兴趣的买家，并于 8 月 13 日在本拿比的 Metropolis at Metrotown 购物中心安排了一次交易。

F | 在那里，他们扣留了涉嫌行窃的人员，直到警察赶到。

G | 报告称，一名成年人和一名青少年被拘留，他们可能面临包括盗窃在内的刑事指控。Kihien 用他的智能眼镜记录了整个过程，画面显示他和朋友们阻拦嫌疑人离开商场。

H | 虽然他们的“诱捕行动”证明是成功的，但警方敦促未来的盗窃受害者不要采取此类措施。“私刑行为只会引发问题，”皇家加拿大骑警警官 Mike Kalanj 表示，“没人知道对方是否携带武器。

I | 即使作为受害者，如果你出现并伤害了某人，你现在也可能面临指控。”被盗卡牌大多完好无损，尽管其中一个封装壳在冲突中出现了裂纹。

J | 这批卡牌包括三张 2023 年的 宝可梦传说：阿尔宙斯 英文版特别插画稀有 EX 卡（分别是水箭龟、妙蛙花和喷火龙），评级均为 PSA 10——这意味着评级机构认为这些卡牌没有任何瑕疵。这是近期又一起登上头条的 宝可梦传说：阿尔宙斯 TCG 相关犯罪案件。此前在 7 月份，英国两名小偷在盗走价值 7.1 万英镑（约 9.5 万美元）的库存后，因逃跑用的货车抛锚而被抓获。

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Published on:06:08:06