Chapter 947
The Official Debut of the AI Era
In September 2019, when AI big models from various manufacturers sprang up like mushrooms after rain, people in the advertising industry were the first to sense that something was wrong.
The copywriting positions were the first to be affected.
Taotian Group's "Thousand Questions" big model was launched in September and integrated with Alibaba's advertising platform.
Merchants only need to enter the product link and a few keywords, and Qianwen can generate a set of product detail page copy in a few dozen seconds.
With a complete package including main title, subtitle, key selling points, user pain points, and usage scenarios, the quality far surpasses that of most junior copywriters earning 8,000 yuan a month.
Some people did a blind test by comparing the copy generated by Qianwen with a paid plan from a 4A agency. The result was that Qianwen's conversion rate was three percentage points higher, while the cost was only one-fortieth of the other company's.
After the news spread, copywriters in the advertising industry collectively suffered from insomnia.
Someone posted on Maimai: "After five years of copywriting, I'm still no match for AI in a few dozen seconds. What else can I do in this industry?"
Someone replied below: "It's not that this industry is unworkable, it's that the kind of work you're doing doesn't even qualify as creative. Expanding a product manual to two hundred words isn't copywriting, it's plagiarism. AI can plagiarize faster and more accurately than you, so why not use it?"
That was a harsh statement, but no one could refute it!
Then there are the design positions.
Baidu's "Wenxin Yiyan" has launched a multimodal image generation function. Although the image quality is not as good as that of top illustrators, it is more than enough for making e-commerce detail pages, WeChat official account covers, and information flow advertising materials.
A cross-border e-commerce company reduced its design team from more than ten people to three. The remaining work was all done using Wenxin Yiyan to generate images, and then the three people did the retouching.
The boss sent a red envelope in the group chat with the message, "Thanks to AI, we've reduced our labor costs to one-fifth of what they used to be."
None of the designers in the group claimed the red envelope.
Then came the video.
Creators on Douyin discovered a feature called "Spark Editing" in the intelligent tools provided by Galaxy Technology.
Upload a few clips, choose a style template, and Spark Editing can automatically complete the editing, music addition, subtitles, color correction, and even automatically generate narration based on the content of the video.
A video that used to take an editor half a day to finish can now be done in minutes, and with even better results.
The first to use this feature were bloggers who did movie reviews and product evaluations. They increased their update frequency from once a day to once every half day, resulting in a surge in traffic and a massive increase in followers.
Meanwhile, those peers who are still manually editing are watching helplessly as their viewership is overwhelmed by the massive amount of content produced with AI assistance. It's like people standing on the beach watching a tsunami crashing in, not even knowing where to run.
Tangdu, headquarters of Galaxy Technology.
Zhang Byte stood in Wang Donglai's office and placed a data report on the table.
He moved very quietly, as if afraid of disturbing something.
The numbers recorded in the report may make many people uneasy. One month after Spark Editing was launched, the average daily number of videos uploaded to Douyin increased by 40%, and the number of authors participating in AI-assisted creation increased to nearly two million, more than half of whom had never published any content before.
"Boss, the data is out."
Zhang Byte's voice was a little lower than usual as he reported, "AI tools are reshaping the content ecosystem much faster than we expected. The output of high-quality content has increased, but the income of professional creators has decreased."
He paused, turned to another page of the report, and introduced: "We conducted a survey of creators, and 30% of professional creators reported that their income dropped by more than 10% last month. The biggest drop was not among the bottom creators, but among the mid-tier creators, those bloggers with a medium number of followers who rely on commercial commissions to make a living."
This number made Wang Donglai turn his gaze away from the window.
He didn't speak immediately, but picked up the report and turned the pages one by one.
When he turned to the creator feedback page, his gaze stopped. One video editor wrote: "I know my editing skills are not as good as AI's, but I also have to support my family. Now AI has broken down the barriers to entry, and the number of people entering the industry has increased several times over. The pie is only so big, and everyone's share will only get smaller and smaller. This industry is unsustainable!"
"Boss, this is what I was worried about before."
Zhang Byte said with a hint of worry, “After the AI tools were made available, top-tier creators became more efficient, and ordinary users who were previously hesitant to enter the market started making videos. Those who were squeezed out were not the worst performers, but the mediocre bloggers who were originally the backbone of Douyin's content ecosystem. These people were the most affected because their content fell right into the range that AI could cover. Top-tier creators are not afraid, as AI cannot reach that level yet. Pure amateurs are also not afraid, since they didn't rely on this for a living anyway. It is precisely those ordinary people who make a living through their skills who are the first to be replaced.”
Wang Donglai closed the report, leaned back in his chair, and remained silent for a while.
He hadn't overlooked this problem, but the data presented to him was still more daunting than he had anticipated.
Zhang Zuyi waited a moment before cautiously speaking, "Boss, should we adjust the pace? The development of AI tools in areas like audio, special effects, and scripts can be slowed down appropriately. Let the market have more time to adapt."
"It's not a matter of slowing down!"
Wang Donglai shook his head and calmly said, "It's a matter of allocation!"
Zhang Yizu was taken aback for a moment, then asked with some confusion, "Boss, what does this mean?"
"AI improves efficiency, and no one can stop this trend. But where does the extra value go after efficiency is improved? Does it go into the pockets of investors or the pockets of creators? No matter how much buffer time we have, it won't help if this problem isn't solved."
Wang Donglai stood up and began pacing back and forth in the office.
"The reason why professional creators are panicking is not because they are not doing well enough, but because what they do can be replaced by AI, and the people who replace them, those newcomers, can produce the same quality content at a lower cost and with higher efficiency. The budget of the clients is limited, and whoever is cheapest and fastest will get the money. This is not a problem of technological progress, but a problem of the value of labor being repriced by technology."
Zhang Yizu thought for a moment before speaking, "Boss, in my opinion, this is really just an efficiency issue. AI tools have lowered the barrier to entry for creation, but they've also made the whole market bigger. People who couldn't shoot videos before can now, and people who were hesitant to take commercial orders before are now willing to. There will definitely be growing pains in the short term, but in the long run..."
He suddenly stopped because he saw Wang Donglai's expression, which wasn't one of anger, but rather a sense of helplessness that said, "You're using business logic to think again."
"You've done it again!"
Wang Donglai's voice was calm as he said, "The logic that 'the cake will get bigger' is correct in most cases. But there's a prerequisite: the distribution mechanism must follow efficiency. If efficiency increases tenfold, the cake triples in size, but the extra portion all goes into the pockets of platforms and capital, while the creators' share shrinks—is that technological progress? That's technological monopoly." To aid understanding, Wang Donglai gave an analogy: "An editor used to edit two videos a day and take on twenty commercial projects a month, earning enough to support a family. Now, with the advent of AI tools, the quality of works has improved, and demand is rising, but at the same time, hundreds of thousands of 'AI editors' are also crowding in."
"Among these people are uncles and aunts who didn't know how to shoot videos before, stay-at-home moms, and college students. They use the same tools as professional creators, but faster and at a lower cost. Client orders haven't skyrocketed, and platform traffic won't expand indefinitely, but competitors have multiplied by tens or even hundreds of times. Do you think this editor will earn more or less money?"
After listening, Zhang Yizu immediately fell silent.
"The key to solving the problem is not to give the market time to digest it itself. More than a hundred years ago, British textile workers did not lack time, but rather the allocation of resources."
Wang Donglai stopped and sat down at his desk, making a decision: "Adjust the pricing of the AI tools. For ordinary users, it will be free. Professional creators will pay a monthly membership fee—not a commission, but a fixed cost. The membership fee won't be increased; regardless of earnings, everyone will stay within the predetermined amount. Those who earn more won't have to pay more, and newcomers starting out won't have to worry about having a large cut taken. At the same time, revise Douyin's traffic revenue sharing standards for creators. It shouldn't be the same for everyone. Those who truly insist on original content and consistently refine their quality should receive higher traffic and a larger share of the revenue."
In the online world, nothing can escape Wang Donglai's notice; it all depends on whether he pays attention or not.
Therefore, when this topic was brought up, Nuwa had already collected a lot of information and made summaries.
The data is detailed enough to show how many people support it, how many explicitly oppose it, how many remain neutral, and includes various information such as occupation.
With the data and information provided by Nuwa, making business decisions becomes very simple, as is the case at this moment.
"We can't ignore the public opinion situation either."
"Ultimately, the relationship between AI tools and creators is not a zero-sum game. Some people are eliminated because the market doesn't need so many homogeneous people. As long as the quality of content continues to improve and the overall industry size continues to grow, the pie will always be redistributed. It's just that someone has to set the rules for this redistribution process."
Zhang Yizu was naturally able to understand what Wang Donglai meant.
The development of science and technology will inevitably bring certain social pains.
The development of drone technology, for example, can easily lift heavy objects weighing hundreds of kilograms, traversing mountains and valleys, saving a considerable amount of manpower, energy, and time.
This is exactly what AI technology is all about now; it can greatly improve work efficiency.
Decades ago, abacuses were used for accounting. The invention of computers has increased efficiency countless times, but at the same time, the amount of data to be calculated has also grown rapidly.
The development of AI technology, like other technologies, will cause a huge impact in the short term. However, as long as related industries develop in tandem, they can complement each other, promote the progress of human civilization, and make it more prosperous.
"Many people think that AI is a replacement, that it will take away their jobs. But in reality, AI is our partner. Many people worry that AI will replace all creative work, but if you think about it carefully, human creativity has a soul, and AI is just imitating existing patterns in data. Truly moving content always requires human effort."
He leaned back in his chair, his tone slightly more relaxed. "AI can help people get rid of repetitive, mechanical labor, such as editing, retouching, and composing music, allowing creators to focus their energy on more valuable ideas. The most precious thing a person has is their brain, not their fingers. Some people are afraid and resistant to it, while others try to utilize it; that's the dividing line."
Zhang Ziyi nodded, strongly agreeing with Wang Donglai's statement.
"Will the more advanced AI tools, such as audio, special effects, and scripts, still be developed as originally planned?"
Wang Donglai's answer was without hesitation: "Go ahead. But before each new feature goes live, the compliance department, ecosystem operations, and creator services must come up with a clear impact assessment and compensation plan. We can't wait until the tools have replaced all the people before trying to fix things; that's not taking care of creators, it's just giving them handouts after the fact!"
"Okay, so should we restrict AI tools from other brands? Or...?"
Zhang Yizu hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question.
Since Galaxy Technology decided to open-source its intelligent big model, the AI technology of major domestic manufacturers has experienced rapid growth.
In a short period of time, Tencent developed "Yuanbao", Taotian Group developed "Tongyi Qianwen", Baidu developed "Wenxin Yiyan", and Chrysanthemum developed "Pangu", and so on.
Few would doubt that these companies can develop large-scale AI models.
After all, these companies control the online data of almost everyone in the country.
With so much massive amount of data, even if you spend a lot of time grinding it out, you can eventually develop a reasonably good intelligent model.
Now that Galaxy Technologies has its open-source intelligent big model, and combined with the internet data they each possess, it's only natural that they would develop their own AI software.
Although Wang Donglai had already talked about the benefits and significance of open source before he started, Zhang Byte still felt a little nervous seeing so many AI tools on the market.
When Wang Donglai heard Zhang Ziyi ask this question, he immediately understood his thoughts and couldn't help but laugh.
“I know your concerns, that you’re afraid they’ll seize the AI tools market and we’ll end up doing all the work for them.”
"Actually, your idea stems from a lack of confidence in our AI technology, which I think is unacceptable!"
"As I've said before, one flower does not make a spring, but a hundred flowers blooming together make a garden full of spring. Our technological lead may allow us to monopolize the market, but it is not necessarily a good thing for the market as a whole."
“They use a free model to grow themselves, while we insist on a paid model. It may seem like we are at a disadvantage, but our technology is superior, and consumers can feel it.”
"What we need to do is actually very simple: leverage our leading position in all aspects to expand the entire market and cultivate consumers who prefer the paid model."
"In the past, the free model was prevalent in our internet market, and bad money drove out good. Now, it has reached a point where it is difficult to reverse the situation."
"Pop-up ads, splash screen ads, and all sorts of intrusive ads, selling consumer information, price discrimination based on big data, breaking free promises, etc. Everyone knows these things are problematic, but they have no choice but to do them due to the need for profit."
"What we need to do is start with the difficult tasks and then move on to the easier ones. Once we get a foothold, we'll succeed sooner or later. Besides, we have core technologies to support us, so there's no need to worry or be nervous!"
Zhang Yizu actually understood this principle, but he was still a little worried before Wang Donglai spoke.
But after Wang Donglai said those words, his worries vanished instantly.
"Boss, I understand!" Zhang Yitu nodded firmly, a resolute look on his face. (End of Chapter)