Why are Chinese companies now hiring ‘virtual employees?’

The future is here. In China, some companies are now hiring ‘virtual employees’. Financial services companies, local tourism boards and state media are forking over big bucks for digital human beings –  a combination of animation, sound tech and machine learning – that can perform and even interact with users. Let’s take a closer look: As per Tech Story, companies are paying between $2,800 and $14,000 per year to hire virtual workers in the fields of customer support and entertainment. The website quoted Baidu’s virtual people and robotics division chief Li Shiyan as saying that this is the future.

Li  said that the advances in technology have made virtual employees around 80 per cent cheaper since last year.

A 3-D virtual employee is available for around $14,300 per year, while a 2-D one costs a fifth of that, the website quoted Li as saying. According to CNBC, virtual employees are becoming gaining more visibility in Chinese cyberspace. China’s digital persons push This comes as even as China makes a push in the world of digital persons. In August, Beijing City announced a plan to push the value of the municipal virtual persons market to more than 50 billion yuan by 2025. As per Tech Times, Chinese firms already have the ball rolling.

Video and game streaming app Bilibili was a pioneer in this field.

Bilibili acquired the team behind Luo Tianyi, a virtual singer launched in 2012 with nearly three million fans who even performed at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing. Developers have recently focused on improving the texture of the virtual singer’s voice using an artificial intelligence algorithm. Bilibili is also known for reaching a wide audience through its many virtual anchors or avatars. What do advertisers, public think? Sirius Wang, chief product officer and head of marketplace Greater China at Kantar, told CNBC that advertisers are looking at alternate avenues after a string of in Chinese celebrities have witnessed scandals. Around 45 per cent of China’s advertisers said they would sponsor a performance by a virtual influencer or even invite a virtual person to a brand event in 2023. Meanwhile, Kantar put out a survey showing that more than a third of customers had seen a virtual influencer or digital celebrity perform in the last year. Another 21 per cent had seen a virtual person host an event or broadcast the news, as per CNBC. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.