artificial intelligence

artificial-intelligence

China Drafts Rules to Regulate AI ‘Boyfriends’ and ‘Girlfriends’

Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

The proposal would require platforms to monitor suicide risk, protect minors, restrict harmful content, and trigger human intervention in cases of distress.

Jiang Xinyi

For China’s AI Industry, 2025 Was Just the Beginning

Contributions from individuals with unique perspectives to share. Hear from everyone, from experts and commentators to those whose voices are often marginalized.

VOICES & OPINION

A year that began with DeepSeek’s surprise launch has since only shown more convincingly that Chinese AI is forging a path of impressive innovation.

Zhou Zhuoran

Inside China’s Robot Training Factory: Where Humanoids Learn to Work

Visual stories that get up close and personal with contemporary China. A mix of short videos, documentaries, photography, and data visualization.

MULTIMEDIA

Lü Xiao

Wu Huiyuan 

AI Isn’t Always Helping Chinese Office Workers Either

Introducing AI into the workplace is all about chasing efficiency. But the ways in which AI affects work — for better and worse — show that efficiency isn’t such a simple concept.

Chen Changwen

How AI Allows Us to Talk With Ancient Chinese People

AI software has made it possible to consistently analyze thousands of historical texts, allowing scientists to carefully map how people’s viewpoints changed between centuries and across regions.

Chen Yuqi

AI to Health Care: Takeaways From Shanghai’s Top Think Tank

The mayor’s business advisory council met to discuss ways the city can become more globally competitive, with attending experts suggesting it capitalize on AI and develop its health care system.

Li Xin

From Blind Boxes to AI Friends, Young Chinese Buy to Feel Better

A new report by Chinese social platform Soul and the Shanghai Youth Research Center reveals emotional value is now a key driver of consumer behavior.

Fan Yiying

AI, Mini-Games, Short Dramas Drive Growth at China’s Kuaishou

The short-video platform’s latest results show both user demand and creator income continuing to grow.

China’s Latest Conservation Weapon Is a Robot Antelope

Researchers hope that the furry, remote-controlled quadruped will help them collect first-hand data about migration routes and birthing behaviors of Tibetan antelope on the remote Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

Chen Yiru

Robots Run, Dance, and Clean in World’s First Humanoid Games

More than 500 robots from 16 countries will compete in the inaugural tournament, with events ranging from Olympic-style sports to real-world tasks like hotel cleaning and medical sorting.

‘Show 30% Anger’: Actor Loses the Plot Over AI Direction

Translations, cross-publications, and collaborative projects from Sixth Tone’s external partners. 

SIXTH TONE ×

As AI takes over China’s film and TV business, performers are struggling to work within its strict creative parameters — or even make sense of its scripts.

Oscar Wu

“No”: The Magic Word in a Viral Chinese AI Remake of Snow White

A dark AI‑crafted retelling of the Disney classic by Beijing-based screenwriter Wen Jing has captivated millions on social media, sparking debate over women’s roles in fairy tales and modern society.

He Qitong

As AI Booms, China Proposes Global Governance Body for Ethical Oversight

At the World AI Conference, experts urged stronger safeguards and inclusive oversight to manage AI’s rapid expansion — warning that without action, we may unwittingly fall prey to its potential.

“Teacher, My Bot Has No Girl”: Inside an AI Class for China’s Elderly

As AI becomes a part of everyday life in China, seniors are struggling to keep up. One grassroots course is trying to close the gap.

In China’s Factory Belt, Workers Race to Survive the Robot Era

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

A nationwide reskilling push aims to prepare industrial workers for automation, but the pace of change is testing both people and institutions.

Chen Yongyi

Can China’s Unused Data Centers Get a Second Life?

A brief but explosive boom in data center construction just before the arrival of DeepSeek has left investors high and dry. But the centers aren’t necessarily a sunk cost.

Evan Freidin

China’s Next-Gen TV Anchors Hustle for a Job AI Is Already Doing

The growing use of AI in television broadcasting is forcing China’s top journalism schools to reconsider what skills still set human anchors apart.

Ding Rui

How AI Is Becoming the Perfect Partner for Historians

What happens when historians use AI to create conversations discussing their own work? According to historical researcher Zhang Guangwei – insights, and plenty of them.

Zhang Guangwei

A Chinese Professor’s Lonely Fight Against AI

Universities are trying to tamp down on students’ LLM use — but that’s easier said than done.

Suzi Lin

Death, Bans, and Fines: China’s Top AI-Generated Fake News Stories

In an effort to quash the spread of AI-generated disinformation, China’s top internet authority highlighted several viral fake news stories from recent years.