Actress Qi Wei Defends Official AI Likeness Licensing Amid Deepfake Controversy

Chinese actress and singer Qi Wei responded to public controversy over licensing her likeness for an AI digital persona in the comic drama "Doomsday Midsummer." She argued that establishing proactive, regulated, and auditable licensing allows artists to distinguish legal commercial AI use from unauthorized deepfakes. Her stance highlights a pragmatic approach for entertainers to protect their intellectual property in the generative AI era. Rather than resisting AI entirely, standardizing digital likeness contracts provides a framework for artists to monetize avatars while maintaining legal recourse against unauthorized deepfakes. Qi Wei clarified that her likeness licensing is strictly time-bound, project-specific, and subject to mandatory content reviews and accountability clauses. She envisioned a dual-track creative future where human actors handle complex emotional performances while digital avatars perform in high-concept productions unconstrained by physical limitations.