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1、China ponders the humans behind virtual idols中國關注“虛擬偶像”背后的中之人Should they have more rights?他們是否應該獲得更多的權力？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.無論是為了營銷還是娛樂，聘請一位現實生活中的明星既本錢高

2、昂又有風險。 最近好多中國明星都卷入了丑聞。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.虛擬偶像是由電腦生成的。不過，這些數字化身通常是

3、由穿戴動作捕捉設備 的匿名人類扮演者控制的。最受歡迎的虛擬偶像在直播平臺上面對數以百萬計的 觀眾唱歌跳舞。粉絲們會給虛擬偶像打賞并購買商品。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.有些虛擬偶像成為了網紅，或被用于營銷活動。這門生意大有可為。艾媒咨 詢表示，2021年中國虛擬偶像市場價值或達160億美元。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.不過，虛擬偶像也存在一些問題。以中國最火的虛擬樂隊之一 A-SOUL女團主

5、唱珈樂為例。它的制作方得到了中國科技巨頭字節(jié)跳動的支持。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.據報道,去年僅珈樂一人單月創(chuàng)造的營收就超過200萬元(約合30萬美元), 其中大局部來自打賞。但在今年5月，公司發(fā)布公告稱珈樂即將離開A-SOUL女 團。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.據珈樂粉絲透露，這位虛擬偶像的幕后扮演者曾抱怨自己受到欺凌、超負荷 工作、薪水過低。

7、她的雇主對此全盤否認，并指出真人扮演者能夠拿到直播收入 的10% o盡管如此，虛擬的珈樂最終消失在人們的視野。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.隨著中國企業(yè)進軍元宇宙，諸如此類的

8、問題將不可防止地出現。去年，中國 企業(yè)在此類工程中投入了數十億元的資金；字節(jié)跳動在VR頭顯制造商Pico上花 了一大筆錢。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.國家智庫中國現代國際關系研究院去年10月發(fā)表的一篇論文談到了圍繞“虛擬勞動”制定相關法律法規(guī)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.與此同時，年輕人越來越受夠了 “996工作制”(即每周工作6天，每天從 早上9點工作到晚上9點)。虛擬偶像帶給他們一時的解脫。但一些虛擬形象的