00:00Dr. Conor McEwan is a lecturer in digital media at the University of Stirling, and it's great to have you
00:05back on the programme.
00:06Look, I can see how easy it is to be tempted by a lipstick, but AI tokens?
00:12It says a lot about the pulling power of live stream shopping in China, doesn't it?
00:17Yeah, I think it's really interesting how this works, and in the last few years across Western scholarship,
00:22we've been trying our best in business schools to understand what is the pull of the live streaming industry for
00:30Chinese consumers.
00:31And research seems to suggest that what is really attractive to Eastern consumers is the assurance that comes with seeing
00:40somebody demonstrating a product live.
00:42And so reports of people like Li Jiaqi actually being able to demonstrate these AI tools,
00:48you know, how to use them, how reliable they actually are, and how easy it can be to buy them
00:53on platforms like WeChat,
00:55using Alipay and things like that.
00:57I mean, it shows consumers in China that there's nothing to fear here,
01:01and that this is an accessible product that anyone can really buy into.
01:06So interesting that you're saying it revolves around trust.
01:09I mean, we've got Alibaba, JD.com, others, they're all now selling AI tokens for Singles Day.
01:14Why are China's tech companies so keen to sell AI directly to shoppers?
01:22Yeah, if you think about it, I think it's less that they're keen to sell directly to consumers.
01:28If we look at something like Google's recent devaluation by 500 billion,
01:34Anthropix's devaluation by almost a trillion dollars,
01:38I think it's more that China's industry is uniquely set up to enable people to purchase these AI goods
01:46in easy, conceivable ways, because they have these mega platforms available to them
01:51through things like WeChat, and as I say, you know, Alipay enables this very easily.
01:56So having these microtransactions, little add-ons for AI tools,
02:01is quite easily integrated into Chinese consumption.
02:06Whereas in the West, we're still approaching this as a system, as a service,
02:10and it's difficult to try and attract consumers to make a new, brand-new purchase
02:14that doesn't integrate as easily into the rest of their life.
02:18So if the West could, I think they would be selling it directly to consumers in exactly the same way.
02:24When he was doing his live stream, the Lipstick King said he wanted an AI version of himself
02:28to chat with fans around the clock.
02:31How far and how soon could AI replace live streamers?
02:36Well, I don't think anybody's going to replace Lee Jetty anytime soon.
02:41I think, honestly, what could happen is that this will be an extension of live streamers,
02:47and especially really charismatic live streamers that have got a personal kind of cult following.
02:52You know, we would see the AI extension as almost like watching the real thing,
03:00but not quite close, like watching a rerun or a quick summary.
03:03And then that almost could highlight the value of the influencer themselves having a real-life appearance.
03:10So it could just be an extension of live streamers onto a more permanent flow,
03:16where you can get sort of answers and sort of half of the experience from the AI,
03:21and then that will really prioritize the value of when they make their own real public appearances.
03:28Dr. Connor McKeown, thank you very much.
