China to ban AI videos profaning classics on short video platforms

(ECNS) -- The National Radio and Television Administration of China announced on Saturday that it will remove AI-generated videos that distort or profane classic works from short video platforms.

According to the notice, some creators have made excessive modifications to classics to get more views.

For example, the plots of palace intrigue among concubines in the TV series Zhen Huan Zhuan, or The Empresses in the Palace, have been changed into fierce gun battles. In the A Dream of Red Mansions, based on one of the four classic Chinese ancient novels, heroine Lin Daiyu, a well-educated and intelligent young woman of physical frailness, was remodified as a boxer to fight with the hero Jia Baoyu.

The authority criticized such re-creations, saying that AI-supported videos have damaged the public’s recognition of traditional culture, betrayed the spirit of these classics, and might infringe on intellectual property rights.

Short video platforms are required to remove these videos and give feedback on Tuesday.

What’s more, these platforms were urged to strengthen review of all AI-generated content and conduct self- examination, to monitor all types of related technical products.