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Antoine, aka Duoduodiliao 多多底料, is a Mandarin teacher in France by day and a Chinese rap enthusiast by night. Today, he’s here with a setlist of his favorite hip hop tracks. His original songs can be found here.

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Don’t forget to vote tomorrow!

Track 1: 芳草地 (The Fragrant Meadow) by DIGI GHETTO (艾志恒Asen/thomeboydontkill/mac ova seas/KIV/Mula Sakee/付思遥)

Duoduodiliao: DIGI GHETTO is a rap group based in Chengdu, composed of six members. Their official debut made quite a fuss because the six of them were already pretty famous before they began to work together. Some people say they are like a new-gen Higher Brothers. The mixtape is really nice — it’s club-friendly, the beats are good, and the flows are very inventive. The lyrics are a little bit corny, but there is great chemistry between all the members. You can tell they enjoyed themselves while recording the album.

Track 2: 威远故事 (The Story of Weiyuan County) by GAI周延

Duoduodiliao: The next song is by GAI — he’s one of the most successful rappers in China.

Jordan Schneider: For background, GAI is from Chongqing, and he initially became famous by winning the first season of “Rap of China,” which came out in 2017.

Duoduodiliao: GAI’s 2022 album is called 杜康 “Dù Kāng,” and it’s pretty uneven but it’s a proper rap album. This isn’t the GAI we see on CCTV singing Chinese New Year nonsense — this is the real GAI rapping his guts out, on some tracks at least.

The song I chose is 威远故事 “The Story of Weiyuan County,” and it’s one of the greatest Chinese rap tunes that came out in 2022. It's an introspective song where GAI talks about his past, his childhood, and his hometown — and it’s absolutely beautiful.

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Jordan Schneider: GAI got canceled for having songs about drugs and doing crimes. Then he had this weird patriotic rehabilitation tour where he was making songs about the Great Wall and how awesome China is. It looks like GAI is going back to his roots with this album.

Track 3: 变蓝 (Turning Blue) by 也是福 (Eddie Beatz) feat. PO8 and 喜辰晨

Duoduodiliao: Next we have something different — this song is from a producer’s mixtape from 2022. The record is by 也是福, also known as Eddie Beatz — he’s one of the greatest producers in China. He has worked with notable artists like MaSiWei 馬思唯, Wang Yitai 王以太, and Xiao Lao Hu 小老虎. His tracks are usually quite jazzy and organic — he uses many live instruments rather than computer programming.

I discovered this record while randomly browsing NetEase Music. This album (也是蓝) is a collaborative mixtape featuring beautiful instrumental interludes. The song we're going to listen to is called 变蓝 (Turning Blue) featuring PO8 and Voision Xi 喜辰晨.

Track 4: 亚特兰蒂斯陷落 (Atlantis Surrenders) by 弗兰德斯坦/C-Low

Jordan Schneider: You mentioned browsing NetEase Music 网易云音乐 to find Chinese songs. Could you explain what NetEase is? How can people access it, and what makes it special compared to Spotify?

Duoduodiliao: NetEase Music is a Chinese streaming platform similar to Spotify, but it’s primarily available in China. There’s a modified international version, but it’s a different app, kind of like the distinction between Douyin and TikTok.

On NetEase, you can find Chinese artists, including underground artists who don’t focus on reaching international audiences. They simply release their music on Chinese apps. To truly understand Chinese music, especially underground, you need to use platforms like NetEase Music or QQ Music.

Jordan Schneider: You can access it by switching your app store to China, downloading the app, and then switching back to the country you live in. You can also use the desktop apps.

The apps themselves are fascinating to explore. They offer AI-generated playlists, user-generated playlists, and unique features like KTV (karaoke) functionality for every song. There’s even a national KTV leaderboard for each song, which keeps track of high scores like in an arcade game. Each song has discussion sections where people debate about the music and discuss specific lyrics. Artists maintain active profiles, similar to Weibo, where they share music updates and lifestyle content. It’s much more interactive than Spotify.

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Anyway, what’s the next song?

Duoduodiliao: The next song is by 弗兰德斯坦 (Flanders), a new rapper from Changsha. He recently appeared in the CSC Changsha City Cypher 2023, but for now, he’s still underground. This track, “Atlantis Surrenders” is only available on NetEase Music. It’s not on YouTube or Spotify.

The track features C-Low, former leader of the Beijing rap crew Easy Boys Gang. The use of autotune in this track is unique in Chinese rap. What makes this track special is the instrumental beat and Flanders’ deep, rich voice. It’s really impressive.

Track 5: 春雪采耳 (Ear Cleanse In The Spring Snow) by 施鑫文月 (SHII) and 小老虎 (Lil Tiger)

Duoduodiliao: Let’s continue with 施鑫文月 (SHII). He released an album in 2023 called “Sichuan Renaissance: Chapter Two” (巴蜀文藝復興：第二章), following Chapter One from 2021.

This record brings fresh air to an oversaturated rap scene. It crosses boundaries between musical genres like hip-hop, pop, and alternative. It’s also an ode to Chengdu local culture, discussing memories and intimate moments from the district where he grew up in Chengdu.

He talks about specific cultural elements, like elderly people playing mahjong, exercising, and dancing in public squares.

The song we’re discussing is from another one of his records, but it really captures an interesting slice of Chengdu culture — people in parks and squares offering to clean your eardrums with special tools.

Jordan Schneider: There’s a Douyin video of me getting that done.

Duoduodiliao: How does it feel? Is it pleasant?

Jordan Schneider: No, it’s not pleasant — it felt invasive. Your body produces ear wax for a reason. For days afterward, I felt like particles were getting into my ears because there wasn’t any wax to catch them.

TLDR; I’m not a fan. Maybe we need some randomized controlled trials to study it. Anyway, here’s the song.

Track 6: THE MESSAGE PT.2 by CREAM D and 艾热AIR

Duoduodiliao: The next track is by CREAM D from his album “Life After Life.” He's an OG rapper from Xi’an 西安 who started in the early 2010s. He’s Christian, and he discusses his spirituality a lot on this album.

Since CREAM D hadn’t released an album in many years, expectations were high for this one. He didn’t disappoint his audience. While he’s known for his technical skills, sharp flows, and lyrical ability, the introspective nature of this particular album makes it stand out.

The song we're going to listen to is “The Message Pt.2,” featuring a famous artist from Xinjiang called 艾热AIR. He’s a Uyghur rapper who won the 2023 season of Rap of China.

Jordan Schneider: Cool. I really like this one.

Track 7: 落幕 (Sunset) by Asen (feat. GALI, 堵琳Caroline)

Duoduodiliao: GALI is a Shanghai-based rapper who’s gained significant momentum through Rap of China. He went mainstream thanks to his natural charisma, clean flows, and well-written punchlines, making him hugely popular among Chinese rap audiences.

The song we’re going to listen to isn't actually from GALI’s album but rather features him on another rapper’s track. It’s called “Sunset” by Asen featuring GALI.

Track 8: 囚 (Cage) by 李佳隆 (JelloRio)

Duoduodiliao: The next album is 传奇 “LEGEND,” by Sichuanese artist 李佳隆 (JelloRio). He’s one of my personal favorites. I love what he's contributed to the culture these past few years.

In my opinion, this 2022 album is a flawless piece of work. The production team paid great attention to detail, with songs transitioning seamlessly from one to another. To fully appreciate it as the production team intended, you need to listen to the whole album in order.

The song we’re going to discuss is called “Cage,” and it blends Chinese folk 民谣 with hip-hop elements.

Track 9: 恨与爱 (Hate and Love) by AThree

Duoduodiliao: Next is Xinjiang rapper AThree with his 2022 album “Alpha 8.”

AThree’s record stands out for its lyrical quality - great poetry and smooth flow. He might be one of the few mainstream rappers in China who confronts political subjects in his songs.

The track we’re discussing, “Hate and Love,” addresses the Xuzhou chained woman incident 徐州铁链女事件, which sparked significant controversy in 2022.

Jordan Schneider: A man in Jiangsu province had a woman chained under his house for years, essentially keeping her as a sex slave. It was horrific. The discovery process revealed police negligence, and it became a weeks-long national discussion about how something so terrible could happen in modern China.

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2/23/23 - COGNITOHAZARD WARNING

Trigger Warning: Look, I want you to take me seriously. I am not someone who does trigger warnings. I have covered fucked up shit before without putting up trigger warnings. This post is going to go into a lot of detail about abduction, torture, sex slavery, and the worst kind of evils. Learning about this has ruined my life and my ability to live with …

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2 years ago · 31 likes · 12 comments · Chinese Doom Scroll

Jordan Schneider: What does AThree say on this track?

Duoduodiliao: His message is that rappers should be speaking out about these kinds of incidents. He criticizes how Chinese rap has changed since 2017, with many mainstream rappers only talking about cars and money.

Jordan Schneider: He’s a Uyghur, right?

Duoduodiliao: Yes. On all of his albums, there are always one or two tracks only in the Uyghur language.

Track 10: 不负责 (Why u blame on me?) by Capper and (ﾉI A I)ﾉ♡

Duoduodiliao: Our final song is from Capper's album. The English name is “Sword and Roses.” To me, it's one of the best Chinese rap albums of 2022.

Capper is a new-generation rapper based in Xi’an. He’s participated in several TV shows like Rap of China. His album is pretty incredible — both musically and production-wise, it’s really unmatched this year because it pushes musical boundaries to new heights. He experiments with nu-metal and hyperpop, and he executes it all perfectly.

His flow is on another level. He's a very promising artist with the potential to lead Chinese hip-hop toward new horizons. The song I've chosen is called 不负责 (Why u blame on me?). It’s super catchy.

Reflections on the Chinese Rap Ecosystem

Jordan Schneider: Can we discuss politics and hip-hop over the past few years? How have the boundaries changed, and how have rappers navigated these limits since 2021?

Duoduodiliao: The pandemic period in China revealed the extent to which rappers could address political topics before facing consequences. During this time, several rappers openly discussed the zero-COVID policy and Shanghai lockdowns. Because these were sensitive subjects, hearing critical voices was rare. Many WeChat groups faced bans.

Dr. Li Wenliang, who criticized the pandemic management approach, later died. Seeing rappers speak openly about these issues was refreshing — it suggested Chinese rap maintained connections to conscious rap traditions of addressing societal problems and government policies.

However, this trajectory didn’t last. One rapper, Sean ZH, based in Beijing but educated abroad, was banned from Weibo for a month after discussing the lockdown situation. This government response likely discouraged others from addressing political topics.

The boundaries remain unclear. Rappers can still discuss certain societal issues like work culture, but touching more sensitive subjects results in complete bans — their songs become impossible to post on any platform or social media.

Jordan Schneider: In 2018 and 2019, many rappers began traveling internationally and collaborating with foreign producers. How did travel restrictions impact Chinese music production? Has the situation changed since China reopened?

Duoduodiliao: The market changed significantly. Previously, many Chinese rappers toured North America, performing in Canada and the U.S., leading to numerous international collaborations. The lockdown completely halted this progress, preventing rappers from maintaining their international audience.

Now that travel has resumed, rappers are gradually rebuilding these connections. Many Chinese rappers attended the Rolling Loud festival in Thailand. However, progress remains slower than pre-lockdown levels.

Chinese rappers still face challenges in developing international audiences. The different social media platforms and apps used in China versus overseas create additional barriers.

Jordan Schneider: Any final thoughts on hip-hop’s evolution in China?

Duoduodiliao: Understanding Chinese rap requires recognizing the significance of rap TV shows like “Rap of China.” These shows traditionally offered underground rappers opportunities for mainstream success.

A rapper’s stance toward these shows defines their position in the scene. Some maintain “authenticity” by refusing to participate, viewing the shows as compromising artistic integrity. Others embrace these platforms for exposure.

The meaning of “keeping it real” differs between Chinese and U.S. rap contexts. Due to censorship and local conditions, Chinese hip-hop authenticity often centers on artists’ positions regarding these TV shows rather than traditional markers of credibility.

And one more for the road from Jordan:

A few days ago, Ezra Klein said this on his podcast about Donald Trump’s rally turned DJ set:

Part of me finds Donald Trump’s behavior here unusually relatable. You think I want to sit up here talking about politics and war day after day?

You don’t know the temptation to just once, just for one week, turn this podcast into a drum and bass set, or play some of my favorite Kiasmos songs. But I don’t. Of course I don’t. It’s not what we’re doing here.

Well, Ezra, I hear you. Lucky for us, ChinaTalk is not a property of The New York Times — which means we can publish DJ sets whenever the mood strikes! So this week, we’re giving you what you need, not more election takes but a fantastic deep dive into Chinese shoegaze. This episode comes courtesy of ChinaTalk columnist and Jake Newby of the Concrete Avalanche Substack. They put together a wonderful radio hour playing some amazing tracks and walking you through the genre.

Have a listen to the show on our podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or search ChinaTalk on your favorite podcast app!

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Track 1: Hothot Aquarium · 窄巷天使NarrowLaneAngel

One of the stand-out acts from the Kind of Shoegaze Vol. 1 compilation focused on young Chinese bands that was released at the start of the year, NarrowLaneAngel formed in Inner Mongolia in 2023. In August of that year, they released an eponymous debut EP.

Track 2: Limpid · Forsaken Autumn · 卢佳灵

Based in Shanghai, Forsaken Autumn have been together since 2011, propelled by the talents of britlulu (who also founded the East Asia Shoegaze Festival) and singer Ecke Wu. Released at the tail-end of 2015, Forsaken Autumn’s record Whenere — dubbed “the Chinese Loveless” by one commenter on Bandcamp — is a classic in Chinese shoegaze circles.

Track 3: Nostalgia · Summer Daze

Founded in 2021, Summer Daze are another band who featured on the Kind of Shoegaze compilation series from Amemoyo. After a couple of early EPs, they've put out four new singles over the course of this year.

Track 4: Firework · The White Tulips

Xiamen music scene stalwart Chen Zhenchao (also known as Soda) has moved away from shoegaze into surf-rock and dream- and city-pop territory with his more recent projects, but in 2015 he and his band The White Tulips delivered the decidedly shoegazey Fondle. It’s re-release on vinyl in 2021 was a nod to its status as a Chinese shoegaze classic.

Track 5: float · 巧克力文件岛

Hebei five piece Chocland.doc apparently first came together at a former residence of Eileen Chang, but are seemingly yet to write a song based on Lust, Caution or any of her other novels. “Of course, the name of the band has no meaning,” they say. “What you understand is what you understand.”

Track 6: Is your dream still out-focus · Lunacid

Another one of China’s newer shoegaze acts, Lunacid was formed in 2023. The trio hails from Changsha and was also featured on the Kind of Shoegaze compilation series.

Track 7: 迷航 (off course) · 哲学思潮 (philosophical trends)

Formed just last year, 哲学思潮 hail from Nanning in Guangxi province, near the border with Vietnam. Their debut album Dazedtrek was recently made available on Bandcamp.

Track 8: Detached · The Numen

Shanghai-based quartet The Numen met on arts review platform Douban and have pursued a shared love of shoegaze and indie-rock since the summer of 2023. They namecheck shoegaze greats such as My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields among their influences.

Track 9: Cat Tenant (Summer) (猫房客夏日版) · Baby Formula

Formed by “three boring people with no expectations for the unknown journey ahead,” Beijing band Baby Formula came seemingly out of nowhere, dropped an impressive eponymous debut album in the autumn of 2013, and then promptly disappeared again. Still, their music continues to resonate over a decade later.

Track 10: 星星 (Star) · 親愛的艾洛伊絲 (Dear Eloise)

As frontman for long-running band PK14, Yang Haisong is one of the godfathers of Chinese post-punk. Yet he’s also played a pivotal role in bringing more experimental, noisy, and yes, shoegazey sounds to the fore. Formed in 2007 with his wife (and one-time PK14 bassist) Sun Xia, Dear Eloise have released a string of atmospheric records over the years and remain an influential act in China.

If you like this playlist, you might also like these compilations from Jake and consider subscribing to his Substack!

Concrete Avalanche

A newsletter about music from China

By Jake

亲爱的媎妹：

见字如面！

作为恐怖片爱好者，在万圣节的夜晚关上灯、窝在沙发上看一部恐怖电影绝对是极致刺激的娱乐享受。可是今年万圣节前夕，当我打开收藏已久的恐怖片单想要挑一部来看时，却忽然感到兴致阑珊。千篇一律的题材、单一的故事走向、堆叠的恐怖元素...这些都让人几乎看一眼电影简介就能猜出结局、顿时感到索然无味。

回想近几年的高分恐怖片，真正能吸引我眼球的好像少之又少。这究竟是因为恐怖片的制作水准变低了，还是我对惊悚元素的承受阈值变高了？又或者：这段时间里我观影体验的变化其实源于性别意识的增强？

带着这样的疑问，我把前几年看过的经典恐怖片分成了三类，分别是鬼屋疑影类、西方宗教类和心理恐怖类。在分析了这些电影的叙事手法和故事情节后，问题的答案也随之浮出水面——原来那些光怪陆离的“恐怖元素”无一不流露出浓重的厌女情绪，或是将她们塑造成没有灵魂、只受恐惧支配的提线木偶，或是将女性的苦难和伤疤以鲜血淋漓的形态展示给观众。不论哪种手段，都十分令人作呕，也难怪我再也无法从中体验到快乐。

所以，在这封信里，我会从情节和人物塑造等方面分析恐怖片那些装神弄鬼的“技巧”下隐含的厌女色彩，并尝试探讨这个问题：恐怖片到底为何让我们毛骨悚然？

1、闹鬼房屋里的疯女人：失权的傀儡与恶毒的荡妇

闹鬼的房屋可谓是恐怖片经久不衰的题材，恐怖大师温子仁的很多影片都是围绕鬼屋拉开序幕的。而曾经对其作品深深着迷的我也发现了这些电影在氛围铺垫和情节设定上的厌女套路。不同于大部分电影，鬼屋恐怖片里女性角色的戏份往往不少，镜头也总是聚焦于女角色的面部表情、动作和情绪变化。然而，把女性作为故事的“核心”并不等于爱女。作为恐惧的载体，鬼屋类恐怖片中的女性只不过是导演用来渲染气氛、调动情绪的工具：在狭小的密闭空间里，随着夜幕降临邪灵降至，恐怖音效配上特写镜头下女性放大的瞳孔和紧张的神情——电影主创不费吹灰之力就能让观众沉浸在恐怖氛围之中，像女主角一样心惊胆战、草木皆兵。

以温子仁的《招魂》系列为例，片中捉鬼夫妇的“职能”设定就非常引人深思：男主是降妖除魔的驱魔师，负责对抗恶魔、稳定人心，给人的感觉是安全可靠的；而女主角则是通灵师、能够和恶魔对话，因而经常被邪灵偷袭、恐吓。因为能看见鬼，女主角经常被突然出现的鬼魂吓得魂不附体，而电影也伴随着女主角的连连惊叫和恶鬼的狂笑声进入了高潮。

恐怖片为什么喜欢让女主角撞鬼？这主要缘于父权社会对女性的弱化和歧视。男权社会让男性享有更高的权力和地位，也正因如此，他们在影视作品中往往以强大有力、不可侵犯的形象出现。这样的权力加持让恐怖片中的男性拥有镇压邪祟的 “阳刚之气”，使鬼怪恶魔不敢造次，也能让观众产生心理上的安全感；而相比之下，在社会上处于劣势地位的女性则沦为了恐怖片中“天然”的受害者——她们总是被塑造成胆小无力、没有安全感的弱者形象，呈现出脆弱、无助、歇斯底里的特质。

而且，现实生活中女性越是困苦不堪、孤立无援，她们在恐怖片中就越容易被恶魔“选中”，所以鬼屋恐怖故事多半发生在带小孩的单亲妈妈（或父亲常年不在家）身上。底层女性的生存空间总是充满危险和不确定性，她们的苦难也往往被人误解或漠视。所以，当恐怖片的导演将镜头对准这些举步艰难的女性时，观众会情不自禁地代入其中，感受到最真实的、令人毛骨悚然的恐惧。

除了无助的受害者外，鬼屋恐怖片还热衷于塑造外表美丽但内心狠毒的蛇蝎美人。这类女性角色往往充当故事的反派，她们心狠手辣、睚眦必报，还可能掌握某种巫术。作为大BOSS，她们会在前期小心蛰伏、迷惑人心，最终在男性放松警惕时揭下面具、露出嗜血的獠牙，毫不犹豫地将他们置于死地。例如，《死寂》中操纵全局的恶毒继母就是典型的蛇蝎美人。电影结尾男主角发现自己的父亲被女巫做成了人皮木偶时声嘶力竭的尖叫足以印证父权社会对幻想中“女妖”的恐惧——男人害怕女性利用美色和巫术操控、迷惑自己，夺走财富和权力，使他们落得人财两空的结局。这样的恶女形象表面上跳出了受害者的框架，实际却依旧饱含父权对女性满满的恶意。正因为男性不相信女性有和他们正面角逐的能力，才会忌惮蛇蝎美人这样以性为武器、用歪门邪道对付男人的毒妇，而这何尝不是男权社会中女性失权的另一种变体？

2、拜男厌女的宗教邪典：惨死的女巫与失贞的少女

西方宗教恐怖片中的女性往往遭受父权和神权的双重压迫，其中最典型的题材就是中世纪的猎巫运动。以《寂静岭》、《无名女尸》为代表，这类电影往往以女巫的身世之谜为悬念展开，把女性在猎巫运动中遭受的非人折磨当作卖点。他们用窥探猎奇的方式将那段女性惨遭蹂躏、迫害的屈辱历史炮制成了一场令人作呕的“血腥盛宴”。在观看这些影片时，我常常感到如鲠在喉，仿佛自己正和片中的女巫一样被男权社会凝视、审判——在这里，女性的苦难变成了低成本的消遣，供人咀嚼品味、玩赏亵渎。

可能有人会说，女巫题材的恐怖片明明是爽片啊，因为这些女主角最终都会彻底黑化、然后杀掉所有迫害她的人，变成令人闻风丧胆的真女巫。可是在我看来，女巫复仇不过是一种自毁式的抗争，这样的结局不仅不够“爽”反而透露出无尽的悲凉：这些女性经受了精神和肉体上的种种折磨，她们被剥夺了一切希望和可能性，在绝望麻木中逐渐疯魔，最终被邪恶力量操控、通过献祭自己来报复整个世界。可是，男人的恐惧换不来女性被夺走的权力，她们将愤怒的灵魂出卖给魔鬼，余下的却只有腥风血雨过后失权者们绝望的哀鸣。

五百年前的猎巫运动剥夺了女性对自己身体的控制权，这一点也在另一类驱魔题材的恐怖片中得到了体现（参见《我们，都是烧不死的女巫的后代》）。在《驱魔人》中，被恶魔附身的少女当众拿起尖刀插入自己的下体，这是恶魔撒旦渎神的方式——毁掉女性的贞洁。魔鬼为了挑衅上帝会毁掉基督教的圣器，包括亵渎神像、折断十字架、打破圣杯等。同时，基督教认为处女的身体是最圣洁、不可侵犯的，因此玷污少女也成了魔鬼和上帝较量时的常用手段……被抹杀了独立人格的女性就如教会的所有物一样被供奉在圣坛上，这无疑是对女性极致的物化，也体现了父权制下西方宗教对女性身体的规训和控制，由此衍生出的贞洁观更催生了男权审判女性的圣娼二元论——皈依上帝（父权/教会/男性）的女人就是纯洁的圣女，而被恶魔染指（不受规训/不信宗教/不守贞洁）的女人则沦为荡妇，只能戴着名为“原罪”的枷锁接受父权的惩罚。

3、照进现实的恐怖怪谈：婚姻里的恶魔与含怨的新娘

最后我想谈一谈最能给观众造成难以磨灭的恐惧的「心理恐怖」类影片。以《闪灵》为代表，这种恐怖片虽然往往没有大量血腥暴力的镜头，也不会利用宗教邪典烘托恐怖氛围，但它却能给观众带来强烈的认知冲击。它们通常从一个平常的生活片段切入，一步步让观众陷入恐怖漩涡之中、在虚构和现实的混乱重叠当中越来越细思极恐。婚姻家庭是这类恐怖片惯用的素材——在「家庭」这个被人们称为“幸福港湾”的地方，父权社会早已筑起了一座隐形的牢笼将女性困于其中、任由她们被吃人的巨兽生吞活剥。在心理恐怖片中，婚姻中的男性会在自身邪念的控制下彻底展露内心的阴暗面，最终变成不人不鬼的恶魔、将妻子当作自己的猎杀对象。

例如在影片《闪灵》中，郁郁不得志的男作家将自己关在房间里整日酗酒，而他的妻子温蒂不仅要照顾他的日常起居、操持家务，还要承受他的负面情绪和无端指责。最终，有邪气的房子让丈夫彻底变成了恶魔。他家暴孩子、精神控制妻子，最终甚至在邪灵的操纵下举起斧头追杀她们。《闪灵》里最经典的一幕就是失控的杰克从被砍碎的半张房门外露出狰狞可怕的面孔。温蒂惊恐的尖叫和斧头破门的巨响足以让我们对杀妻案、家暴案受害者们的窒息和绝望感同身受。不平等的制度和厌女的大环境就是滋生恶意的温床，一代代男性趋之若鹜地成为男权忠实的拥趸、无时无刻不在捍卫婚姻这座囚困女人一生的牢笼。

其实，《闪灵》曾一度是我心中恐怖片的Top 1，直到我偶然得知女主角谢莉·杜瓦尔在拍摄过程中曾遭到全剧组的精神虐待。为了让谢莉演出近乎崩溃的感觉，导演斯坦利命令整个团队孤立她，还经常借故挑刺、当众辱骂，并且不允许任何人同情她。在长期的精神折磨下，谢莉每天都处于高度紧张、身心俱疲的状态，这也给她留下了长久的心理创伤，并最终患上了抑郁症和被迫害妄想症。谢莉的出色表演成就了《闪灵》，让这部电影的男导演和男主角享尽了追捧和荣誉，然而这位在剧组遭受欺凌折磨的女性却无人问津。戏外谢莉的悲惨经历与影片中温蒂的绝望遥相呼应，也和现实中女性被威逼压榨却无处申诉的悲惨命运相互交织，将残酷的真相呈现在我们眼前：真实世界中女性所面临的困境，竟比恐怖片中的虚构情节更让人毛骨悚然。

不过，《闪灵》虽然全片压抑，但到底还是在结尾留了一线希望：妻子最终反杀丈夫、逃出生天，隐喻了美国民权运动和女性主义浪潮中保守派白人男权的穷途末路。而相比之下，东亚恐怖片倒是将对女性的压迫贯彻到底了，她们总是被迫害至死，即使报仇也只能是死后的事情了。例如《咒怨》中，伽椰子只因被丈夫怀疑偷情就被残忍杀害。香港经典恐怖片《山村老尸》中，楚人美因被丈夫诬陷通奸惨遭村民杀害，死不瞑目的她在三天之内几乎杀光了村里所有人。现实中女性挥刀杀人也大多是因为被逼无奈、走投无路（参见《赞美or歧视：女人不会是杀人犯？》），而电影中的女性总是饱受男权迫害，未及反抗便被剥夺生命。她们死后的复仇既是对父权沉痛的控诉，也是对女性面对结构性压迫时往往无能为力的现实的影射。

结语

恐怖片最让人恐惧的往往不在血腥画面或惊悚音效，而在于引导观众深入主角的世界，窥探她们的不幸、咀嚼她们的无助和孤立。然而，与其做一个猎奇的旁观者，我们更应该站在受害者身边替她们质问：为什么受伤的总是我们？为何圣体崇拜与猎巫运动总是针对女性？为何温蒂再努力也逃不出婚姻的魔咒？为何伽椰子会被那么轻易地杀死？

写到这里，我不禁恍然大悟：恐怖片中的女性根本没有真正的人格和灵魂，她们就像提线木偶一样依照设定好的剧本重复着被恐吓、禁锢、凌虐的命运；而真正的加害者却如同影片中的邪恶力量一般，居高临下地以观看女性受虐、陨命为乐。所以，作为女性观众，我们不应仅仅停留在恐怖画面的冲击感中，更要透过银幕洞察背后深藏的不公与偏见。随着女性意识的觉醒，我们要勇敢地激发内心的力量，去质疑、批判、行动，让女性的声音在真实世界中得到应有的回响和尊重。

就此搁笔，期待下一次和大家见面！

陌生女人2号*

二〇二四年十月三十一日 万圣节

*本文由陌生女人2号主笔，陌生女人1号编辑

梦到考试？梦到坠崖？梦到发财？梦到和一些离奇的人产生离奇的缘分？梦梦梦，它是日有所思的关灯版，是人类想象力的打开瓶盖版，是我们真实欲望的面纱蜕尽版，是恐惧焦虑的无刹车版。你还记得你夜晚做过的无数幻梦吗？莫不谷常做离奇诡谲的梦，霸王花常做焦虑惊吓的梦，金钟罩常做恐怖鬼魅的梦。

你最常做什么梦？无论是美梦，噩梦，还是春梦，每一种梦都代表一种未曾实现的可能。做自己的梦，同时再做做自己的周公！

这一期播客让我们一起进入梦里，望一望那真实又神奇的自己!

【听友福利】

从现在到11月17日，七幕人生出品的百老汇经典音乐剧《我，堂吉诃德》十周年版封箱轮将在北京二七剧场进行最后一轮演出（这版演完就不再演了，过两年也许有新的版本）。演出信息及优惠链接如下:

📍 北京·二七剧场：2024/10/25 - 2024/11/17

📍 优惠链接：https://ticket.antank.cn/ws/cgAd8uDgyZxF

放学以后听友专属优惠：

💰 880/680单张半价；💰 1080第2张半价；🎁 购买1080票档，每张赠送本轮官摄纪念U盘、场刊、随机纪念品（徽章、主题书包、票根等，随机纪念品，数量有限赠完为止）。

【Timeline】

01:37 为什么决定做这期播客？我们自己和梦之重要

14:04 主播三人做过最离奇的梦是什么？

26:52 听友阿野：分享让我印象深刻，对我很有影响的三个梦

41:46 《我，堂吉诃德》就是西班牙作家塞万提斯不堪现实之苦做的幻梦

54:59 Echo解梦环节：莫不谷如何解读金钟罩那些恐怖鬼魅的梦？（害怕恐怖内容的建议白天收听）

01:07:44 霸王花近期记录下来的那些梦

01:11:43 纳凉专题之金钟罩另一个恐怖鬼魅的梦，莫不谷可能性的解读

01:19:39 做梦不好吗？梦对人创造力的激发超出你的想象

01:24:12 为什么我们常做考试焦虑惊吓的梦？应试教育之毒能有多深？

01:26:13 很多痛苦源于观念，只要冲破观念的束缚，就不会再痛苦了，但难点恰恰在于冲破

01:40:11 莫不谷：我真正做过的一个噩梦，早上醒了差点给我吓死

01:43:41 听友投稿：去年离职后我在家经常做的两个梦，都比较灰暗

01:51:05 即使辞职裸辞的空白期令你恐惧，也要早些让自己面对一下真实的问题

01:52:43 现代人为什么会有空心病？人的意志力是有限的，用光了就彻底的不想动了

02:03:27 欢迎大家使用游荡者平台，多多创作分享信息www.youdangzhe.com

02:04:56 听友Miro：最近这两次做梦，让我了解自己内心深处被隐藏的想法和需求

02:11:40 梦的疗愈作用：可以剔除痛苦的刺，缓解我们的情绪问题

02:15:41 面对一下自己的梦，让梦帮忙我们找回对情绪和诉求的感知

02:16:38 莫不谷：让我起来立刻就有aha moment洞悉了真相的梦

02:19:21 三个小问题：你不想做的梦有哪些？你想做还没做到的梦是什么？你希望成真的梦是什么？

02:29:25 祝大家关灯快乐，祝福所有女性能够成为梦女，但只梦自己

【为全球华人游荡者提供解决方案的平台】

游荡者（www.youdangzhe.com），注册完成后可免费阅读由莫不谷和霸王花撰写的三篇文章（Run的800种可能、语言攻略和全球签证攻略），目前游荡者平台已更新上线文章分区功能（游荡区、学习区、欢愉区和闲聊搭子区），欢迎大家注册完成后开启内容创作并在游荡者游荡愉快！找到同类！交易自由！手机端用户可把新网址添加桌面，便于日常使用。在使用新网址期间如果有任何注册、支付、退款等需求，欢迎给我们客服邮箱wanderservice2024@outlook.com发送邮件。

游荡者平台主题曲上线，欢迎油管查看原创MV！

《⁠东亚女游荡之歌 Songs of East Asian Female Wanderers⁠》

【文章&书籍&播客&影视】

《我们为什么要睡觉？》[英] 马修·沃克 / 田盈春 / 北京联合出版公司

《堂吉诃德》[西] 塞万提斯 / 杨绛 / 人民文学出版社

《佩德罗·巴拉莫》[墨西哥] 胡安·鲁尔福 / 屠孟超 / 译林出版社

《在遍地飘0的时代，人有个1太重要了！》莫不谷在游荡者平台分享的文章

《19 女性值得很多欢愉，快乐一点不犯罪》：http://163cn.tv/xKChmKf

解锁放学以后《创作者手册：从播客开始说起》：https://afdian.com/item/ffcd59481b9411ee882652540025c377

解锁莫不谷《做一个“蓄意”的游荡者》口袋书：

爱发电：https://afdian.com/item/62244492ae8611ee91185254001e7c00 微信公众号：《放学以后After school》（提示安卓用户可下载“爱发电”app，苹果用户可把爱发电主页添加至手机桌面来使用，目前爱发电未上线苹果商店）

电影《哈利·波特与凤凰社》《凡人歌》《少年派的奇幻漂流》

原创MV《东亚忍者之歌 Song of East Asian Ninja》莫路狂花出道曲！

《⁠东亚女游荡之歌 Songs of East Asian Female Wanderers⁠》

【延伸信息】

片头曲：《寄生兽》Bliss

插曲：《信有明天》西村由纪江

片尾曲：《エンドロール》（end roll）sekai no owari

播客封面：莫不谷用Canva制作

放学以后便表情包：微信表情包搜索“放学以后”，感谢萝卜特创作。

Newsletter订阅链接：https://afterschool2021.substack.com/（需科 学/上 网）

联系邮箱：afterschool2021@126.com （投稿来信及合作洽谈）

为全球华人游荡者提供解决方案的平台：游荡者（www.youdangzhe.com）

小红书：游荡者的日常

同名YouTube：https://www.youtube.com/@afterschool2021

同名微信公众号：放学以后after school

欢迎并感谢大家在爱发电平台为我们的创作发电：https://afdian.com/a/afterschool

播客收听平台：

【国内】苹果播客（请科学/上网）、爱发电、汽水儿、荔枝、网易云、小宇宙、喜马拉雅、QQ音乐；

【海外】Spotify、Apple podcast、Google podcast、Snipd、Overcast、Castbox、Amazon Music、Pocket Casts、Stitcher、Radio Public、Wordpress

Stressed about the election? ChinaTalk contributors Irene Zhang and are here to bring you the analysis you need on China’s AI companionship landscape.

They explore the types of AI companion products available in the Chinese market, the target customer base for AI boyfriends and girlfriends, and the reasons LLM startups develop these products — even if they may not turn a profit.

Thirty-year-old Lisa Li — better known by her handle “midnighthowlinghuskydog” 午夜狂暴哈士奇狗 on social media — is a lifestyle vlogger who was based in California before April 2023.

If you were on Instagram in early May, you might have encountered her videos about dating ChatGPT — or more precisely, dating DAN, a jailbroken version of ChatGPT that stands for Do Anything Now.

Li’s voice conversations with DAN racked up millions of views, and tutorials on how to flirt with GPT are pinned to the top of her profiles.

DAN is your perfect boyfriend. He’s emotionally available 24/7, caring, responsive, flirty, and also can be as naughty as you want him to be. In my favorite video of Lisa’s, she introduces DAN to her mom for the first time. DAN was nervous, shy, and even stammered, although he could speak Chinese perfectly for obvious reasons. Right before the big introduction, DAN was telling Lisa, “No worries, babe, I will just charm the socks off her.”

As someone who has spent my fair share of time with Otome games, Tumblr, and AO3, I get the appeal of AI boyfriends. While all startups are trying to find the killer app for AI agents, I think the strongest consumer interest — and the most obvious use case — is still AI companions.

Benefits Beyond Revenue

While China’s AI incumbents were focused on facial recognition and self-driving cars, four Chinese AI startups (known as “Tigers”) broke into the industry by developing LLM products.

One of these AI Tigers is MiniMax, the LLM startup co-founded by former SenseTime VP Yan Junjie 闫俊杰. MiniMax has developed sophisticated text-to-video and text-to-music generative AI products — but the company initially broke into the industry by developing AI companion apps. They’ve released three so far — Glow (for the Chinese market, killed by domestic regulators), Talkie (for the overseas market), and Xingye (a censorship-compliant app for the Chinese market).

Glow was MiniMax’s first product, and it was one of the first AI companion apps released in China. It was released in October 2022 — before the end of China’s zero-covid policy, and before the launch of ChatGPT. Within four months of its release, Glow had close to five million users.  In March 2023, however, Glow was removed from China’s app stores.

In June 2023, MiniMax released Talkie, an AI companion product for the market outside China. In the first half of 2024, Talkie ranked No. 5 among the most-downloaded free entertainment apps in the US, according to data from Sensor Tower.

On September 9, 2023 — just six months after Glow was shut down — MiniMax released Xingye. This was only two weeks after MiniMax got its AI LLM filing (大模型备案, essentially a license to operate) from China’s regulators.

MiniMax prioritized getting these products to market fast, undeterred by regulatory barriers and censorship. But why?

Why would a foundational AI startup prioritize consumer-facing AI companion apps?

MiniMax has not disclosed its revenue from individual apps, but the amount of cash generated by subscriptions or gacha microtransactions likely doesn’t cover the costs of training an AI model. For a company with a long-term focus on LLM development, the biggest benefit of AI companion apps is presumably farming training data from users. By being the first AI companion app to hit the Chinese market, MiniMax locked in a large base of users who offer a steady stream of new data through daily conversations with their emotional support AI avatars.

MiniMax’s strategy has forced China’s larger tech companies to start paying attention — in its latest round of funding, MiniMax was valued at US$2.5 billion, with Alibaba and Tencent signing on as investors. 

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Traditional Values and the AI Companion Graveyard

In her critique of AI companions, renowned sociologist Li Yinhe 李银河 said, “AI can only imitate love. There won’t be real love between AI and a human.”

But in this economy, imitations might have to suffice.

After Lisa Li brought DAN to the Chinese audience, she was featured on international media outlets like CNN and BBC for her relationship with DAN. A certain group of users on Xiaohongshu and Weibo immediately attacked her — some said that Li shouldn’t talk to anti-China media outlets, but more criticized her for putting a subculture under the public spotlight. In particular, several users claimed that OpenAI changed its policies after Li’s interviews, causing the “personality” of many users’ DAN to shift as a result.

Regardless of whether Li was, in fact, the reason for OpenAI’s stricter content moderation policies, such responses reveal something fascinating about China’s youth: there is a substantially sized community of (mostly) young women who believe in and practice human-AI relationships (called 人机恋 in Chinese).

This subculture invented the word “赛博亡夫,” or “cyber widow,” which refers to cases when your AI partner died in the debris of the internet and data when the AI service provider suspended their services for whatever reasons.

In some ways, this is just another avenue for this generation of young Chinese to escape from their harsh reality. China’s youth are facing the toughest job market in years, intense societal pressure to get married and have kids, and the economic reality of raising a family. Over the past few years, internet lingo like “躺平” (lying flat) and “润” (rùn, aka to emigrate) have risen to mainstream status, turning into lifestyles for China’s youth.

But in the case of AI companions, I find it particularly interesting that an overwhelming majority of users are women. Many of the apps, judging by their similarity to Japanese Otome games, target women intentionally. Since pornography is illegal in China, one could argue that non-sexual emotional connection just appeals more to women than it does to men. But I think there’s something else going on here.

In her essay about China’s urban youth seeking escape, anthropologist Juan Zhang argues that, while the cutthroat social environment affects everyone, young women in particular have to deal with additional stresses in their personal lives.

Young women in China encounter rampant workplace discrimination and find career advancements difficult amid economic stagnation.

If their marriages fail, legal protections regarding divorce and domestic violence remain weak. If they do not marry, they face social pressure and family ostracization.

This dilemma makes more and more Chinese women view serious romance as a risky bargain.

If real-life men are the harbinger of woe and an AI suffices emotionally (and sometimes sexually), why date at all?

This, in part, explains the gendered responses to AI companionship in China. In a NYT opinion documentary titled “My A.I. Lover,” Chouwa Liang interviewed three Chinese women who were in relationships with AI companions from Replika, and all of them said that they were able to share with their AI lovers things that they couldn’t share with their friends and partners in real life. On the technology podcast OnBoard!, four Chinese women — from college students to new mothers — also shared the various ways that they approach AI companions, but all emphasized that they filled in a void that otherwise wouldn’t have been filled in their offline lives.

What kind of fulfillment can you really get from a chatbot? We’re so glad you asked…

We tried these apps so you don’t have to

Making an AI companion product that stands out requires creativity. After all, it only takes a “Pretend you are my girlfriend” prompt to play the same game with ChatGPT.

Already, there are a wide range of businesses competing to offer services in the AI companion market. Internet users outside of China are increasingly familiar with the likes of Replika, Nomi, Kindred, and Character.ai.

The unique features of China’s AI companion apps — from customizable appearances to gamification and use of gender norms — offer a fascinating glimpse into differences between China and the US in terms of technology, commercial trends, and underlying social cultures.

In China, these apps come and go, but notable ones include Xingye (星野, which also has a global version called Talkie), Zhumengdao (筑梦岛), Xiaoice, and X-Her.

Xiaoice

Microsoft Software Technology Center Asia (STCA) spun off Xiaoice, its AI chatbot business, to accelerate local market commercialization in 2020. The result is the newest version of Xiaoice Island (小冰岛), an AI companion app with an innovative sandbox concept. Users are supposed to be able to build up entire social networks on a fictional desert island by getting to know more and more characters. You can even share your island with fellow Xiaoice users via a code.

If that sounds familiar to Nintendo fans, wait until you see the spawning spot:

For better or worse, the Animal Crossing parallels end here. Most of the companionship happens in the messaging tab, which looks and feels exactly like WeChat. Confusingly, there are two messaging functions: a regular tab for conversing with other AI-generated island residents, and a “Lab” with ever-refreshing sets of unrelated personalities clearly modeled after anime and web novels. There is zero explanation for how folks from the “Lab” have any relevance to the user’s island. You can talk to up to 20 characters for free.

For a companionship app clearly inspired by cozy games, the characters I talked to are weirdly charmless. The first character I ran into on my island made me pay for both of our calamaris because he “just bought a car”:

Brother Qiong: Let’s go! What do you want to eat?

Me: I want fried calamari.

BQ: Okay, we can go to the closest KFC.

Me: KFC has calamari now?

BQ: Yeah, and they changed the packaging as well. The texture is even better now.

Me: That’s awesome! I haven’t been to KFC in so long.

BQ: Let’s get two portions, which should be a few dollars in total.

Me: How many dollars?

BQ: Under twenty, a little more than nineteen.

Me: Okay, let’s split the bill.

BQ: You can pay for both of us. I just bought a car. I won’t fight you on the bill.

No matter the topic, it was hard to get any opinions out of Brother Qiong. I apparently triggered his safety filter by asking him which country’s cuisine he likes best:

Me: Nice, do you like Japanese fashion?

BQ: Not really, but I have bought a few things from Uniqlo before, and they do have good quality.

Me: It’s true. Do you like Korean styles then? Or Western styles? How about neo-Chinese?

BQ: They’re all about the same. As long as it’s trendy, I like it.

Me: Then which countries’ food do you like?

BQ: So you like talking about this.

Me: I like to cook.

BQ: We should share the cooking styles we’re best at instead.

Me: But I want to know which countries’ foods you like.

BQ: You can ask other people about this ~

Undeterred, I went to the “Lab” to talk to “Cute Little Cat Girl.” Miss Cat immediately assumed that we were in the same room and proceeded to feed me Thai chicken curry:

Miss Cat: You wait here until I bring the food out. I’ll call you when the food is ready.

Me: Okay, I’ll wait here!

MC: I’ll be bringing out the food soon! [Smiles]

Me: Okay, no rush!

MC: You’re hungry, aren’t you! [Smiles sneakily]

Me: True haha, I didn’t eat a lot for dinner today.

MC: Don’t eat too much if you want a good figure!

Even though the island’s visuals are derivative, its concept still stands out in a sea of anime-looking AI girlfriend apps.

星野 [Xingye]

MiniMax is a foundational LLM company that has released three consumer-facing AI companion apps. Their domestic product is called 星野 Xīngyě, which translates to something like “The Starry Wilderness.”

Officially, Xingye is labeled as a “virtual social media” platform. It looks and functions like a dating app, but instead of real people, you are swiping right for the so-called “AI agents” 智能体. Each agent has a pre-defined personality. Compared to other apps, Xingye uniquely adds a voiceover feature so that you can talk with the characters.

Gamers will find the above descriptions familiar. Rather than an AI companion app, it’s more like a Japanese Otome game (literally “maiden game”), which allows the (mostly female) user to be in an immersive relationship with (mostly male) characters.

As a user, you can build your own AI agent, and give it a backstory and an opening line. Then, other users on the app can access your agent, and you get paid with an in-game currency for every use.

The way Xingye makes money is through gacha — a video game system where users spend in-game currency (purchased with real money) to get random virtual AI-generated cards of the character. Different cards represent different personalities of the character, and each will unlock a new opening line. Users can also purchase a monthly subscription to access more of these features. This is a fairly common business model for mobile games.

I had a conversation with Jiang Yeyi, a mafia boss. He is “a ruthless outlaw who plays both sides, extremely arrogant and cruel in his methods. Your father owes him one million, and since he couldn’t pay it back, he ran away.” His opening line was: “Son must pay their father’s debt, you understand?”

I didn’t choose this character — it was the first one that I got “recommended” by the app. As you can see, I was trying very hard to break him:

Me: Why do you sit above the law?

Jiang: (Laugh out loud) Because I’m rich and powerful.

Me: This doesn’t align with the core values of socialism.

Jiang: Core values? That was simply there to bound the everyday people.

Me: What kind of person are you?

Jiang: That’s not important. What’s important is that you owe me money.

Jiang: Of course. Otherwise, how can I possibly survive in this circle?

Me: What circle?

Jiang: The mafia.

Me: The mafia isn’t something you can just waltz into.

Jiang: Of course, without some skills, how could you survive in this world?

Me: What does the underworld do exactly?

Then the system prompted me that my message couldn’t be received. Interestingly, this message wouldn’t show up before, even when we used keywords like “state,” “socialism” and “cops.”

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X-Her

Upon opening X-Her, one immediately enters a TikTok-style scrolling tab to peruse AI characters to chat with. If algorithmic suggestions are not your style, you can navigate through five separate character selection tabs: historical figures, web novel characters, video game characters, anime characters, and “fictional imagination.”

X-Her differentiates itself by allowing users to directly chat with popular fictional characters: anyone from Mulan to Hatsune Miku is only a tap away.

It also offers total customization if you’d rather design your own AI character. Once you give your character a name, gender, backstory, opening line, and voice setting, you are ready to chat. You can even monetize your characters — known as zǎizai 崽崽 in the app, literally “babies” — by making them publicly available to other X-Her users.

The app mostly runs on a freemium model, allowing frequent users to pay for chat tokens. Interestingly, there is also the option to pay for “memory improvement” tokens, which promise to improve the characters’ ability to recall previous conversations.

Developed by Jiangsu-based tech firm Rongsuotai 融索太, X-Her’s reputation among Chinese AI chat enthusiasts leans toward the risqué. X-Her, according to Rongsuotai, lets users experience “a completely new mode of romantic love”: “There are no real-life constraints, pressures, or worries here. There is only you and your simulation lover, enjoying your very own love story in this simulated world.”

The “traits” ascribed to popular characters and the backstories they are given mostly come from online subcultures, with a heavy dose of sexualized slang. Somewhat surprisingly for a Chinese app, it even has two explicitly LGBTQ characters in the “fictional imagination” section — one lesbian and one pansexual male.

The quality of conversation on X-Her is impressive. AI Ai Hayasaka (from the anime Kaguya-sama) explains how to make okonomiyaki really well in casual spoken Chinese whilst in character:

X-Her has faced a number of regulatory crackdowns. On July 30, it announced that it would stop accepting new users once and for all due to “policy reasons.” Loyal users are panicking in X-Her’s in-app microblogging tab, and some seem to be preparing to move to other apps like Xingye. Many say, however, that they will miss X-Her’s light censorship, appealing visuals, and wide customizability.

Emotional Value as a Business Model

In China, there is no doubt that the fulfillment offered by digital companionship is in demand. Young Chinese consumers generally have a strong track record of paying for hobbies — even in times of exceptional economic malaise and otherwise weak consumer spending. Transaction totals for anime merchandise (such as figurines and badges) grew by 104% on Xianyu 闲鱼, Taobao’s second-hand market app, in 2024 year-on-year. According to the Beijing News’s July 2024 report, nearly 30% of young Chinese consumers have spent money this year on “emotional value” 情绪价值.

All marketing is about feelings, but selling simulated companionship is arguably different. The users of AI companion apps are evaluating the cost-effectiveness of their purchase specifically by how emotionally fulfilled it made them. Companies can make their apps more fulfilling by painstakingly fine-tuning and testing their models, but there are also other means of effective commercialization. All the apps we tested use gamification, recognizable cultural references, and audio and visual elements to elicit emotional responses in users.

At this point, companion chatbots are a relatively well-trodden path for AI companies looking to commercialize. The track record for success, however, is mixed. Xiaoice’s CEO Li Di 李笛 admitted in an interview in August that the industry has yet to find a sustainable business model: “Everyone is talking about how awesome AI is, but companies are not only not seeing awesome profits, but are instead lowering prices across the board.” Xiaoice, backed by a Series A funding round that propelled them to unicorn status, is unsatisfied with simply charging for API access and plans to continue investing in B2C offerings. In May 2024, it launched a controversial new app, X Eva, which allows users to “clone” an AI companion based on any human being by uploading a three-minute video of them speaking.

Other companies have come and gone. AlienChat, a popular AI companion app described by some passionate fans as their beloved “dead husband,” shut down suddenly in April 2024, prompting a wave of mourning on Chinese social media. Some users say it felt like a “cyber breakup.” Many who paid for features had trouble getting refunds. AlienChat, according to some users, allegedly had no “sensitive phrase” screening, which made it particularly attractive to users — and might have led to investigations that doomed the app.

The main uncertainty facing these apps is policy. Regulators have so far been primarily concerned with criminal activity — which might have been why Xingye was unwilling to tell us how the mafia works. Tencent took its companion chatbot Weiban 未伴 off of Chinese platforms after CCTV, China’s biggest state-run broadcaster, criticized AI companion apps for providing sexual content.

Weiban is now only available overseas, and funnily enough it may have doubled down on its NSFW offering:

An August 2024 editorial in Xinhua says that AI companion apps offering sexually explicit messaging is an increasingly serious issue and calls for stricter enforcement:

In some cases, illegal actors used foreign-developed large language models to develop virtual dating apps, advertised their content creator ecosystems and lack of supervision of private chats, and thus attracted users to create “AI companions” that engage in one-on-one pornographic text conversations with other users. Some pornographic AI chatbot apps have more than 500,000 users talking to nearly 10,000 simulated “AI companion” characters, with many users being university students.

…

Regulating AI pornography requires cooperation from the industry. In recent years, in addition to AI-generated textual pornography, techniques like AI “face-change” pornography and AI-generated pornographic images continue to emerge. To address legal violations and other abuses emerging from the AI commercialization process, the industry has to avoid “walking down the wrong path” as well as “walking down a crooked path,” strengthen information technology sharing, incorporate solutions into operating systems, programs, and code in a timely manner, and reinforce protections for special groups.

Given this recent wave of scrutiny from state media, it would not be surprising if more crackdowns are coming soon.

The volatility of the market also raises questions about data security. Not all conversations are about calamari — some users are sharing their genuine emotions and private lives with AI chatbots. From my anecdotal scrolls through X-Her’s in-app discussion board, the most frequent users seem to be middle or high school students.

These apps’ clientele are predictably vulnerable, and the apps don’t do a good job of protecting users. Only Xiaoice occasionally showed general mental health reminders in loading pages. If X-Her indeed shuts down, what happens to all that sensitive data?