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1、China ponders the humans behind virtual idols中国关注“虚拟偶像”背后的中之人Should they have more rights?他们是否应该获得更多的权力？Whether its for marketing or entertainment, hiring a real-life celebrity is expensive and carries risks. Several Chinese stars have been caught up in scandals recently.无论是为了营销还是娱乐，聘请一位现实生活中的明星既本钱高

2、昂又有风险。 最近好多中国明星都卷入了丑闻。Virtual idols are generated by computers. Often, though, these digital avatars are controlled by anonymous human performers wearing motion-capture gear. The most popular virtual idols sing and dance before millions of viewers on live-streaming platforms.虚拟偶像是由电脑生成的。不过，这些数字化身通常是

3、由穿戴动作捕捉设备 的匿名人类扮演者控制的。最受欢迎的虚拟偶像在直播平台上面对数以百万计的 观众唱歌跳舞。粉丝们会给虚拟偶像打赏并购买商品。Fans tip real money and buy merchandise. Some virtual idols are influencers or used in marketing campaigns. It makes for big business. Chinas virtual-idol market was estimated to be worth nearly $16bn in 2021, says iiMedia, a cons

4、ultancy.有些虚拟偶像成为了网红，或被用于营销活动。这门生意大有可为。艾媒咨 询表示，2021年中国虚拟偶像市场价值或达160亿美元。Virtual idols have problems, too, though. Take Carol (pictured), the lead singer of a-soul, one of Chinas most popular virtual bands. Its creators are backed by ByteDance, a Chinese tech giant.不过，虚拟偶像也存在一些问题。以中国最火的虚拟乐队之一 A-SOUL女团主

5、唱珈乐为例。它的制作方得到了中国科技巨头字节跳动的支持。Carol alone generated over 2m yuan ($300,000) in revenue, mostly from tips, in a single month last year, according to reports. But in May it was announced that Carol was leaving a-soul.据报道,去年仅珈乐一人单月创造的营收就超过200万元(约合30万美元), 其中大局部来自打赏。但在今年5月，公司发布公告称珈乐即将离开A-SOUL女 团。According

6、to fans, the performer behind the virtual idol had complained that she was bullied, overworked and underpaid. Her employers denied all of this, noting that human performers receive 10% of live-stream earnings. Nevertheless, the virtual Carol has disappeared.据珈乐粉丝透露，这位虚拟偶像的幕后扮演者曾抱怨自己受到欺凌、超负荷 工作、薪水过低。

7、她的雇主对此全盘否认，并指出真人扮演者能够拿到直播收入 的10% o尽管如此，虚拟的珈乐最终消失在人们的视野。Such issues will inevitably arise as Chinese firms pursue opportunities in the metaverse. They poured billions of yuan into such ventures last year; Byte Da nee spent a small fortune on Pico, a maker of virtual-reality headsets.随着中国企业进军元宇宙，诸如此类的

8、问题将不可防止地出现。去年，中国 企业在此类工程中投入了数十亿元的资金；字节跳动在VR头显制造商Pico上花 了一大笔钱。A paper published in October by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a state think-tank, spoke of the need for laws and regulations surrounding virtual labour.国家智库中国现代国际关系研究院去年10月发表的一篇论文谈到了围绕“虚拟劳动”制定相关法律法规的必要性。Young people, meanwhile, are increasingly fed up with 996 schedules (ie, working 9am to 9pm six days a week). Virtual idols offer them an escape. But behind some avatars are humans with similar gripes.与此同时，年轻人越来越受够了 “996工作制”(即每周工作6天，每天从 早上9点工作到晚上9点)。虚拟偶像带给他们一时的解脱。但一些虚拟形象的