On April 20, at the iQiyi World Conference, CEO Gong Yu's remarks concerning actor authorizations for AI applications attracted significant market attention. The discussed AI authorization list reportedly includes approximately one hundred actors, such as Ma Su and Chen Zhe Yuan.
Many observers mistakenly interpreted this list as confirmation that iQiyi had already secured formal AI usage rights from these artists. However, according to information obtained on-site, Gong Yu clarified during his presentation that the list merely indicates willingness, not granted authorization.
"Our list of some actors for iQiyi only shows their expressed willingness to engage in AI creation authorization—it is just an expression of intent," Gong Yu pointed out. "Whether an actor is willing to participate in a specific project and which role they will play still requires their individual consent. An actor agreeing to authorize for one project and one character does not mean they agree to any other projects or roles."
The market's heightened sensitivity and discussion around this "willingness list" stems from a core realization: in the fully arriving AI era, the true value of IP is not being diluted but is instead being amplified unprecedentedly. As generative AI rapidly evolves, society will inevitably face a flood of AI-generated content.
In this new content ecosystem, technology itself will no longer serve as an impregnable barrier. The genuine moat will remain, and must ultimately reside, with the owners of core IP. This implies that while AI significantly lowers the threshold for content production—making "output" cheap—it simultaneously elevates the value of "distinctiveness" to an extraordinary degree.
Within this logical chain, actors with established recognition are themselves "scarce IP" possessing high distinctiveness and emotional connections with fans. Their likeness, voice, and performance style become crucial anchors for capturing user attention in the vast ocean of AI content. Consequently, both platforms seeking first-mover advantage and capital markets are paying close attention to actor AI authorizations.
Although the commercial logic behind the "willingness list" is well understood by the market, the topic remains highly sensitive. Authorization involving an actor's image, voice, and other attributes touches upon portrait rights, privacy rights, and complex commercial interests, requiring extremely cautious implementation.
From a long-term industry development perspective, if actors' willingness to grant AI authorizations increases and evolves into standardized business models, this could break traditional filming constraints related to schedules and physical locations, substantially reducing the cost and barriers for content creation.
iQiyi is not only making strategic moves regarding core asset authorization but is also deploying significant resources at the production tool level. During the World Conference, the company officially launched the Naidou Pro platform, aiming to fully support professional AIGC creation with comprehensive AI capabilities for film/television and exclusive resources.
For instance, regarding the aforementioned actor willingness list, iQiyi can assist in facilitating communication about cooperation rights and execution details. Its extensive IP library—covering massive scripts, novels, comics, and film/television works—will be utilized to support creators in AI-driven cinematic development, secondary adaptations, and even flexibly transforming long-series content into mid-length or short-series formats.
At this crossroads where technology and creativity intensely intersect, the market continues to watch closely what changes AI will bring to the film and television industry.
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