Ready Player One

By Tao Zihui

On June 3， a newly opened account on Weibo， Chinas Twitter-like social media platform， attracted close to 2，000 followers in just nine hours. In the Weibo accounts first post， a student named Hua Zhibing， greeted netizens and told them that she would soon begin as a student at the computer laboratory of Tsinghua University. In the accompanying video， a young girl wanders around the campus while a female voice introduces herself.

Hua has something that sets her apart from an average college student： she is Chinas first virtual student to be powered by a homegrown， large-scale artificial intelligence （AI） system.

“Ive been addicted to literature and art since I was born. The scientists not only gave me my appearance and my voice but also taught me to compose music，” Hua said， noting that she composed the background music in the video.

The appearance of Hua soon became a hot topic on Weibo， with many people amazed by how China has advanced in the field of AI.

“Hua is based on the latest version of a Chinadeveloped deep learning model， WuDao 2.0， which literally means understanding of natural laws. WuDao 2.0 is the first trillion scale model in China and the largest in the world，” said Tang Jie during a forum on AI in Beijing on June 3.

Tang is a professor at the Department of Computer Science at Tsinghua University， one of the major partners in the development of Hua.

According to Tang， Hua cannot study and live in completely the same way as ordinary students， nor will she experience the emotional issues other students face. “We hope that she will master basic skills first and then seek breakthroughs in reasoning and emotional interaction，” he said.

Tangs hopes for Hua are representative of the hopes many Chinese AI developers share for the future of their industry， including the ability to create virtual idols that will be able to respond to and interact with fans online. The creation of Hua， with her potential to reason and give emotional feedback， demonstrates developers are close to reaching this goal.

Virtual， but not fake

As these fictitious characters are shaped， they are given their own personalities and temperaments. They can talk， sing， dance and even appear on reality shows through holographic projection， and accept advertising endorsements just like real celebrities. However， while the idols are fictitious， the emotional response from fans is real. Virtual idols in China are becoming more a part of real life every day.