Fueled by the wave of digitization, the phenomenon of digital people live streaming has emerged as a hot topic in the realm of the internet in recent years. This technology, gradually ingrained into our daily lives, sparked extensive discourse with the debut of Liu Qiangdong’s AI digital persona. Consequently, this article seeks to delve into the multifaceted dimensions of digital human live broadcasting, offering an in-depth analysis of its rationale, challenges, and future trajectories.
1.Challenges Surrounding Digital Identity and Trust
As we delve into the realm of digital personas in live streaming, we are prompted to contemplate the essence of these virtual entities. Live streaming in this context can be broadly delineated into two distinct categories: those featuring entirely fictional digital personas, meticulously crafted with unique character profiles, captivating backstories, and compelling intellectual property to captivate audiences; and those centered around real individuals, where digital replicas are fashioned based on them. These replicas strive to mirror the appearance, voice, and even behavioral nuances of their real-life counterparts, aspiring to wield comparable influence within the virtual domain.
However, the cloned digital personas rooted in real individuals confront formidable challenges concerning trust. Despite their uncanny resemblance to their real-life counterparts in appearance and behavior, consumers often discern subtle disparities. Upon realizing that their cherished “idol” or “star” is essentially a “fake real person” fabricated from code, consumers may experience disillusionment or even resentment, fostering resistance towards embracing the concept of live digital personas. While Liu’s AI live-streaming debut garnered impressive sales figures, much of its success hinged on Liu’s personal brand influence rather than the technological prowess of digital human replication itself.
2. The Aura of Digital Personas and the Impact of Live Broadcasting
Beyond the realm of trust, digital live broadcasting grapples with inherent limitations in cultivating ambiance and eliciting consumer impulses. As a form of communication heavily reliant on emotional engagement and interaction, live broadcasting imposes stringent demands on the anchor’s capacity for expression, interaction, and real-time responsiveness. However, compared to their real-life counterparts, digital personas still exhibit substantial disparities in these aspects.
Through advanced AI technology and algorithmic refinement, we can imbue digital personas with richer emotions, more natural interactions, and more agile responses during live broadcasts. Nevertheless, the efficacy of this “simulation” remains incomparable to that of genuine human anchors. In live broadcasts necessitating genuine emotion and instantaneous interaction, digital personas often appear stilted and mechanised, impeding their ability to evoke audience empathy and spur impulsive engagement. Consequently, within the current technological milieu, digital human live broadcasting is perceived more as a supplementary tool than a primary alternative to human anchors.
3. The Anxiety of Digital Personas and Giants' Strategies
Amidst the rapid evolution of Internet technology and escalating market competition, internet giants grapple with mounting traffic concerns. In response, some giants have commenced integrating digital human technology into live broadcasting and short-form videos, endeavoring to seize market share by deploying their own digital human anchors. However, this simplistic strategy of replication and imitation is not a sustainable solution.
Primarily, while digital human anchors may reduce labor costs and enhance productivity to a certain extent, they fail to establish profound emotional connections and trust relationships with viewers akin to real human anchors. Consequently, digital human anchors encounter formidable challenges in competing with their human counterparts over the long term.
Furthermore, the market landscape within the realm of digital human live streaming and short-form videos has attained relative stability, rendering it arduous for new entrants to disrupt the existing market dynamics through mere replication and emulation. Instead, they must identify novel avenues for growth and development through innovation.
Hence, it is imperative for internet behemoths to actively explore novel domains and opportunities rather than merely replicating existing successful models. They must vigilantly monitor the trajectory of emerging technologies and market dynamics, promptly adjusting their strategic orientation and business models to align with evolving market demands.
4. Exploration of Future Prospects and Opportunities
Despite encountering myriad challenges and limitations at present, the future of Digital People Live brims with promise as technology continues to advance and application scenarios proliferate.
Firstly, with the ongoing evolution of Extended Reality (XR) and other nascent technologies, digital human live streaming is poised to deliver a novel shopping experience and interaction for users. Leveraging XR technology, digital human anchors can be presented to users in a more lifelike manner, fostering seamless interaction and heightened user engagement. This promises to significantly enhance user participation and shopping experiences, infusing fresh dynamism into the trajectory of digital human live broadcasting.
Secondly, with the maturation of AI technology and the diversification of application scenarios, digital personas are poised to permeate and flourish in a plethora of domains. For instance, in realms such as online education, medical consultations, and travel guidance, digital human anchors can furnish users with personalized and professional services, thereby broadening market horizons and fostering development prospects for digital human live broadcasting.
In conclusion, for internet enterprises and developers, proactive adoption of emerging technologies, exploration of novel applications, and identification of nascent opportunities constitute the linchpins of future development. They must remain attuned to the trajectory of emerging technologies and market dynamics, perpetually realigning their strategic trajectory and business models to meet evolving market exigencies. Concurrently, they must intensify research and development efforts and talent cultivation to elevate the caliber and efficacy of digital human live streaming, thereby garnering the trust and patronage of users.
