Slow is beautiful: China launches war against AI drama, goes beyond algorithms

China's broadcasting authority is pushing for greater support of traditional live-action dramas amid a surge in artificial intelligence (AI)-generated microdramas. The rapid rise of AI in microdrama production has raised concerns over content quality and rights protection. Wang Xiaoliang, head of the department overseeing online audiovisual content, emphasized that live-action dramas should be strongly supported as the mainstay of high-quality production.

Microdramas, or duanju, have seen explosive growth in China, with around 430,000 released in the first eight months of 2026, compared to the entire 2025 total. AI dramas now account for over 90 percent of new releases. The regulator plans to promote high-quality microdramas, offering financial support to ensure quality productions find audiences and generate returns.

AI is now involved in nearly every stage of microdrama production, from story adaptation to post-production, upending an industry that supports more than 2 million jobs nationwide. This shift has given rise to AI microdramas, featuring lifelike digital characters that reduce the need for conventional filming. However, the explosion in AI-generated content has created regulatory challenges, including content plagiarism, repackaging, AI face-swapping, voice cloning, and copyright infringement.

High-profile actors and the general public have accused AI microdrama producers of using their likenesses without consent. Chinese AI microdrama writer and director Lydia Chen expressed concerns that the industry's rush for hits has led to a decline in originality, as productions increasingly resemble internet products.