JD(09618) 36氪·2024-04-18 23:47Core Viewpoints - The AI digital human "Caixiao Dongge" (based on JD com founder Richard Liu) achieved significant success in a live-streaming event, attracting over 20 million viewers in one hour and generating over 100 000 orders in 40 minutes [1] - The success of the digital human is attributed to Richard Liu s celebrity effect and JD com s AI technology, but it is still far from replacing real human hosts [2] - JD com s AI technology, particularly its Yanxi AI platform, is driving the digital human trend, focusing on cost efficiency and scalability in live-streaming [3][5] Industry and Technology Insights - The digital human industry is rapidly growing, with the core market size in China reaching 12 08 billion yuan in 2022, a 94 2% year-on-year increase, and is expected to reach 48 06 billion yuan by 2025 [4] - Digital human technology involves five key modules: character modeling, voice generation, animation generation, audio-video synthesis, and interaction, supported by AI, CG, and virtual reality technologies [4] - The cost of creating a non-customized digital human has significantly decreased, with some companies offering basic AI clones for as low as 8 000 yuan [4] Applications and Challenges - JD com s Yanxi AI virtual hosts cost less than 1/10 of real human hosts and can be set up within 2 hours, significantly reducing operational costs [5] - Despite the cost efficiency, digital humans face challenges in fully replacing real hosts due to limitations in emotional interaction and consumer acceptance [5][6] - Digital humans are increasingly used in e-commerce, healthcare, education, finance, and transportation, with e-commerce being the top demand sector [4] Market Trends and Future Outlook - The average salary of live-streaming hosts in China decreased by 20% in 2023 compared to 2022, partly due to the rise of digital human hosts [5] - While digital humans are not yet mature enough to replace top-tier hosts, they are expected to gradually replace mid and lower-tier hosts [6] - JD com continues to invest in real human hosts and content creation, allocating 1 billion yuan in cash and 1 billion yuan in traffic incentives to attract creators [6] Digital Human Ecosystem - The digital human ecosystem in China is divided into three categories: film and TV digital humans, real-person-skinned digital humans, and intelligent digital humans like "Caixiao Dongge" [7] - Virtual streamers (Vtubers) are gaining popularity, with examples like ByteDance s A-SOUL, which combines virtual identities with real human performances [7] - However, virtual streamers are not yet suitable for live-streaming sales, as seen in the case of Yaowang Technology s digital human "Kong Xiang," which was discontinued after only seven videos [8] Industry Challenges and Regulation - The digital human industry faces issues such as fraudulent practices and mismanagement, with some companies failing to deliver promised services [9] - Regulatory measures are needed to standardize the industry, including setting industry norms and addressing misleading practices [9]