AI Short Dramas: Where Do Humans Fit In? [Media Outlook]

The rapid advancement of AI in China's short-drama industry is transforming content creation, raising questions about the future of human roles and the distribution of value. Virtual actors, like "Fang Taozi" in the AI-generated short drama "The Fired Girl," are becoming commonplace. This drama reportedly cost around 110,000 yuan (approximately $15,000), a mere fraction of the 1.5 million yuan typically needed for live-action short dramas.

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When you look at the video of Will Smith eating spaghetti generated by ModelsScope, an open-source AI platform created in 2023, his face is grotesquely distorted, and his noodles and hands appear to melt and blur.

This shift aligns with media scholars David Nieborg and Thomas Poell's concept of "platformization of cultural production." As content creation increasingly relies on platform data and infrastructure, the logic of these platforms reshapes creative conditions. "Fang Taozi," initially a drama character, has evolved into an independent intellectual property (IP) engaging with fans on social media and participating in advertising.

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In just three years, scenes that seemed impossible yesterday are now quite natural.

This evolution signifies a "migration of scarcity," where the value is moving away from human labor towards verified IPs, character fandom, data, distribution channels, and, crucially, human attention. Herbert Simon's observation that human attention becomes scarcer as information becomes more abundant is particularly relevant. While this might appear as a democratization of production, it ultimately consolidates the power of platforms and established IPs amidst content overload.

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Short dramas are a genre that artificial intelligence can easily penetrate. The basic grammar includes episodes of 1-2 minutes, vertical screens, dramatic conflict, and cliffhangers at crucial moments.

Furthermore, human faces are becoming raw material for content capital. Disputes over unauthorized use of faces and voices in AI content are escalating, leading to platforms like Hongguo suspending upload privileges for creators accused of "face theft." A market for facial data is emerging, with platforms offering payments for facial licenses, turning humans into both creators and replicable data resources. Despite these advancements, AI still faces limitations, such as uncanny valley effects, rigid expressions, and difficulties in maintaining character consistency, indicating that human direction and editing remain essential.

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The platformization of cultural production, as described by media scholars David Nieborg and Thomas Poell, is useful for understanding this change. The more content production relies on the platform's data and infrastructure, the more the creative conditions are reorganized according to the platform's logic.