The integration of the film and television industry with AI cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach

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■ Li Haoyue

Currently, AI technology is accelerating its penetration into multiple industries, and the film and television sector has become the “vanguard” closely integrated with AI. The crowding of AI animated dramas and AI “deepfake-real” actor dramas is challenging the traditional film and television industry chain. Recently, it was reported that some film and television companies have signed AI actors, and this move has sparked widespread discussion in the industry. On social media platforms, multiple netizens have voiced resistance to AI actors.

In recent years, the overall data of the traditional film and television industry has declined year after year. According to data from Lighthouse Professional Edition, in 2024, the total annual playback volume of film and television works was 117.221 billion times, falling to 110.843 billion times in 2025. If we look at the annual “drama king” playback data each year, the gap is even more apparent. In 2024, the annual long-form drama champion “The Joy of Life (Season 2)” had a total playback volume of 3.558 billion times; in 2025, the annual long-form drama champion “Cang Hai Zhuan” saw its playback volume drop to 2.875 billion times.

Against this backdrop, cost reduction and efficiency improvement in the film and television industry has become an inevitable choice. In the author’s view, the controversy over AI actors, at its core, is a clash between “efficiency first” and “creative ethics.” Film and television companies are attempting to compress labor costs with technological means to achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement. But at the same time, we also cannot ignore the basic attribute of film and television as “art made by people.”

China’s film and television industry has developed for a century, and it has produced countless classic works. Actors are never replaceable “components” in an industrialized assembly-line creation process; their vitality is often the dividing line that determines the texture and quality of a work. If we were to completely replace actors with AI, it would undoubtedly be strangling the film and television industry’s vibrant lifeblood.

In the author’s view, audiences are not opposed to technology itself; technology is a tool, not the answer. The integration of AI into the film and television industry cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach. At present, AI can be applied in steps such as virtual background generation, special effects optimization, and storyboard pre-visualization, achieving technology-driven cost reduction. This can both improve efficiency and not disrupt the subjectivity of performance art.

In addition, from market phenomena, behind video large models are the integration of countless works featuring real human performances. Currently, multiple cases have already occurred in the film and television industry where celebrities sued AI “deepfake-real” dramas. In cases where celebrities sue, the infringing companies most often resolve disputes by taking the content offline. To avoid infringement, some companies use the faces of company employees and relatives when creating AI actors for data-based creation.

In this regard, the author believes that if film and television works require AI to generate characters, they should clearly label it, and ensure that the source of training data is legitimate, obtaining the relevant authorizations for portrait rights and performance rights.

In short, under the wave of AI, the traditional film and television industry should return to the foundation of creation and reassess the value of “people.” True “cost reduction” should not mean removing actors; it should mean optimizing production management and reducing resource waste. In a healthy industry ecosystem, acting skills—not gimmicks—should become the core competitive advantage.

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