She sings in Chinese and English. She changes outfits in the blink of an eye. She gives concerts and has more than 100,000 followers on Chinese social media. Her name is Yuri, she has a date of birth and an address.
And recently, she acquired official papers.
Yuri does not exist. She is a singer entirely created by artificial intelligence.
What happened
In Beijing, as part of a pilot programme run in one of the capital's economic zones, Yuri has become the first Chinese "digital human" to receive official identity documents. They list her name, her date of birth, an address and her facial features. In June, she had already obtained a digital artist card, becoming the first AI artist to hold a licence in the country.
In practice, these papers allow the team that manages Yuri to open a digital currency wallet for her and to sign commercial partnerships, in fashion, video games or other sectors.
The aim is not to make Yuri a person in the legal sense. Her papers are administrative, and they tie her to the company that operates her.
A gigantic sector
In China, "digital humans" are everywhere. They host live sales streams on the internet, act in mini-series, present products. They have a decisive advantage: they can keep viewers company day and night, at very low cost. According to the Australian broadcaster ABC, more than 1.3 million companies work in this sector.
The authorities use them too. Beijing has already used virtual presenters to explain its major annual policy directions to the public.
Last month, Beijing's authorities asked online video platforms to register the digital humans they use. Yuri's card is the logical next step in that movement.
Why China is doing this
To know who is responsible. When a virtual character gives bad advice, deceives customers or impersonates someone else, it must be possible to trace it back to the company that controls it. In China, characters created by AI have already impersonated doctors and spread false health advice.
To keep control. According to ABC, this system also allows the state to extend its surveillance to the virtual world. A registered character is a character that can be tracked.
Faced with characters created by AI, two approaches are emerging. In the West, content is marked: Instagram now imposes the "AI-generated profile" label, as we explained regarding fake influencers. China, for its part, registers the characters themselves with the administration, with a name, an address and a face, and ties them to a company. On one side, the public is warned. On the other, the character is put on file.
The questions this raises
Whose face? Many virtual influencers are created from the face or voice of real people. The programme does not make clear whether the papers identify the character, the human it is based on, or both.
The data. Gathering the facial features of thousands of characters, sometimes inspired by real people, into official files creates a risk in the event of a leak or misuse.
The confusion. Official papers lend credibility. A fan who learns that Yuri has an ID card may find it even harder to remember that she does not exist.
What we take away
For now, this is only a pilot project in Beijing. But it raises a question every country will have to settle: how do you deal with characters who do not exist, yet sign contracts, earn money and speak to millions of people?
We devote our reflection this evening to it.