iQIYI's AI drama trailer sparks debate over eerie AI faces

Chinese video platform iQIYI released a trailer for an AI-powered drama series, featuring two lead actors appearing as AI-generated faces. The video sparked heated discussion online, with the topic trending on Weibo. Many users said the AI faces looked unnatural and even eerie.

The drama, titled "Bu Xian Yuan Yang Zhi Xian Xian," stars Shen Yujie and Chen Heyi. It is a long-form live-action AI drama series produced by iQIYI. AI short dramas are already common in China, and demand for digital face materials keeps growing. Ordinary people can license their digital portraits for about 100 yuan per short video, while professional actors charge from 500 to several thousand yuan depending on usage and length.

Industry research firm Data Eye estimates that in the first five months of 2025, the AI short drama market exceeded 22 billion yuan, and could reach 40 billion yuan for the full year. Over 95% of micro dramas launched in the first quarter were AI-generated.

China's National Radio and Television Administration recently held a symposium on intellectual property and personality rights protection for AI micro dramas, stressing that portrait and voice rights of natural persons must be fully respected, and that AI micro dramas should develop on a legal track.