Your next favourite celebrity may be a digital person, or a financial advisor

In June 2022, Simon Gong, also known as Gong Jun, one of China's most well-known celebrities, released a new music video

[{"selector":"#anim-a73d6321-2103-41c0-aedc-3db17433e107 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(58.35010971846059%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0633b3c3-6273-4e52-8edc-3fa2fa08ef47","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.28663%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5f9b47f1-305b-4c27-94ff-4b39f615d724","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-298e6937-de7d-48e9-b314-4c0f8bbf655c","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]

Weibo, the nation's equivalent of Twitter, saw the video quickly garner 15 million views.

[{"selector":"#anim-4e9168da-71ab-4d90-a4c2-ccc2113b0b6b [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(34.151953322317006%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-17cff87d-285e-440c-90d0-62f55f791cc4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.28663%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bcafe00a-3402-4c51-aa8b-b9f80142422d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0d014f43-343b-476f-9b5f-06a2b56ebea0","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]

The event, however, also stood out for another reason that perhaps only keen-eyed fans would have observed

[{"selector":"#anim-f17cb198-cd3a-43bf-bf56-0d9eabb69fb4 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(28.90624987200394%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0eb4be3e-a2af-4af7-8b3e-415d94662ad3","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.14195%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-04edcd62-4dee-4c1c-b637-ca799b2d5011","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-579f14e2-9536-47ba-9484-7fcb2586c7e3","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]

The vocalist in the video wasn't Gong himself; instead, it was a computer clone made by Baidu, an artificial intelligence-powered "digital human."

[{"selector":"#anim-76b2111e-f631-4313-b23a-f90830a77f35 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(34.249999904429615%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c9a2f789-5568-4595-8cc8-d6b629bfc565","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.60510%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-13bdd516-a3fd-4d0d-93d7-997c8664f703","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-84077e6c-cf40-4edb-af56-39d600215300","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]

Likewise, the lyrics and melody were generated by AI, marking the recording as China’s first AI-generated content music video

[{"selector":"#anim-b5e536da-0e93-4ee4-8218-7c3ab8d25b46 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(34.01988626666966%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-dded05da-f058-4fd7-8fd6-c9aaf33af05f","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.14195%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-403016ae-9151-45fa-b532-b21dc5e002f5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-fc84e6fd-d3ca-4394-afec-080a1374b2ec","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]

Businesses recently concentrated on offering 24-hour services, especially the media and entertainment sector

[{"selector":"#anim-fccd46e1-51e0-4019-ad70-462f9097d731 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0, -9.677418865487002%, 0) translate(0%, 9.677419354838712%) scale(0.8064516129032258)","translate3d(0, 0%, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e5f42c36-fc47-4315-9c76-600e8430096b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.28663%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b974f856-2096-4706-a779-631fd0b3c50a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-acb4c441-5c1e-433d-9f45-597c3a463fac","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]

And as digital humans increasingly populate other sectors like retail, health care, and finance

[{"selector":"#anim-2d5206e9-d33a-4152-94de-867a87b66cd4 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(34.531249906136225%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-fcc54dc4-a2f1-436d-ae18-e779ba232d8f","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.28663%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-491cb050-7e23-4c1c-a43a-e5ef133630cd","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7b3cf066-a140-46bb-8ffd-60cf7b5ed92e","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] Web Stories