appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Yating Yang

A Chinese company has sparked controversy after it reportedly used a former employee’s data to create an artificial intelligence (AI) human to continue working following his resignation.
A game company in Shandong province in northern China has attracted attention after turning a former employee into an AI-powered “digital worker” which continued performing tasks after their resignation.
The employee, whose personal details remain unclear, previously worked as an human resources (HR) specialist.
The avatar is responsible for handling basic tasks such as answering inquiries, scheduling appointments and creating PowerPoint presentations and spreadsheets.

According to a video shared online by a company staff member identified as Xiaoyu, the digital employee introduces itself in a chat window.
“Hello, I am the digital avatar of a former employee. You can ask me questions at any time. I will respond based on the documents I handled during my employment.”
It has been reported that both the avatar and its profile are based on the former employee and the AI “employee” was trained using materials uploaded by the employee himself.
The experiment was conducted with his consent.

Xiaoyu, who also works in HR, explained that the company has over 100 employees and joked: “Yesterday we were joking around together and today he becomes an AI.”
“This is a bold attempt by the company to explore whether simple, routine tasks can be handled by AI. It is currently only being tested internally and has not been rolled out publicly yet, as the digital avatar is still a bit clumsy,” Xiaoyu told Henan Daily Newspaper Group.
He added that the company plans to develop humanoid robot employees in the future, aiming to handle basic tasks such as reception, guidance and office appointments.
However, Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, warned that chat records, work emails, and personal working habits of former employees are all legally defined as personal information, while some private communications may even defined as sensitive personal data.
“Training data that involves personal information must be obtained with the person’s consent. If a company uses an employee’s code, documents or work plans for AI training without permission, it may infringe upon their privacy and personal information rights.

“In particularly serious cases, the sentence may range from three to seven years, along with a fine,” he said.
The company’s practice sparked controversy on mainland social media.
One person asked: “Absurd. The employee is already leaving. Why would he still agree to this?”
Another added: “He should be paid copyright fees. Even after leaving, the company should continue paying him.”
A third person quipped: “Great. Humanity has just taken another big step toward its own destruction.”


Chinese woman in her 70s wakes up in coffin before dying for good 2 days later

Chinese Good Samaritan arrested for manslaughter after kindness leads to fatal accident

Chinese man sues AI firm after chatbot’s ‘auspicious’ date suggestion leads to disaster

People in China earn between US$7 and US$15,000 by licensing faces to AI content producers

Trending in China

Chinese firm slammed for using ex-employee’s data to create ‘AI human’ to continue working

A Chinese company has stirred debate after using a former employee’s data to create an artificial intelligence humanoid to continue working post-resignation. Photo: Shutterstock

An artificial intelligence powered humanoid robot with a glass visor types on a futuristic touch keyboard. Photo: Getty Images

Actual human employees hard at work in a busy office in China. Photo: Shutterstock

A scientist working in an artificial intelligence technology design lab. Photo: Getty Images

Ancient China lavish toilet routines: nobles used silk, Empress Cixi had 28 maids to serve her

In ancient China, commoners used scrap paper for toilet hygiene while nobles opted for silk. Photo: SCMP composite/Baidu

In ancient China, commoners typically used a primitive wooden bucket known as a matong, or “horse bucket,” for sanitary purposes. Photo: Baidu

For the average person, public toilets were rudimentary and overcrowded, with some streets temporarily transformed into open-air latrines. Photo: Baidu

Interestingly, toilets in ancient China were often constructed above pigsties, effectively integrating sanitation with livestock management. Photo: Baidu

Reports indicate that Empress Dowager Cixi had 28 attendants managing all aspects of her toilet routine, with eunuchs carrying her toilet into the room on their heads. Photo: History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

From tech PhD to China Taoist priest, Zhang Gaocheng inspires a new generation

After returning to China from a tech career in the US, Zhang Gaocheng, now a 74-year-old Taoist priest, merged tech and tradition by introducing modern management and a Taoist doctor app. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote

Zhang gained recognition after attending the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing in early March, where he was interviewed by state media and discussed his approaches to managing anxiety. Photo: Douyin

After earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science from a university in southwestern Sichuan province, Zhang, left, began teaching at the prestigious Zhejiang University in eastern Zhejiang province in the early 1980s. Photo: Douyin

Currently, Zhang serves as the abbot of Tongbai Palace on Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang, where he often shares his life insights with visitors and followers. Photo: Douyin

In 2013, he established the Zhejiang Taoism Institution, which not only focuses on Taoist classics but also encourages students to delve into management, psychology, English and computer science. Photo: Douyin

An old family photo of Zhang Gaocheng. He gave up a successful tech career in the US to restore Tongbai Palace, an important Taoist temple in Taizhou, Zhejiang. Photo: Douyin

Doctors warn of spinal cord damage as ‘neck-hanging exercise’ trends among China youth

In a bid to replicate cervical traction therapy used in hospitals, a new trend called the “neck-hanging exercise” has emerged among young Chinese people. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote

Groups of young people take part in organised sessions of neck hanging. Photo: Weibo

A woman in a surgical mask performs the controversial “therapy”. Photo: Weibo

Extreme exercise: an elderly man suspends himself from a tree in a park in China. Photo: Weibo

A group of elderly people do their exercises in a park in Beijing. Photo: Shutterstock

Women sumo wrestling was popular pastime in ancient China until rise of Confucian ethics

In ancient China, women’s sumo wrestling was a popular form of entertainment and the country is believed to hold the earliest records of female sumo wrestlers. Photo: SCMP composite/Baidu 

The above image depicts two women getting to grips with each other in ancient China,  Photo: zhihu

The above painting shows two women making a sporting gesture to each other before a bout in ancient China: Photo: zhihu

Two modern-day women fighting during a competition at The World Games in Poland in 2017. Photo: Getty Images

This painting shows a sumo bout under way in ancient times as spectators watch. Photo: zhihu

The menacing-looking stone sumo carvings, above, were made hundreds of years ago. Photo: zhihu

China ‘sexual intelligence godmum’ returns, paper robots for ancestors, mum goes bald tutoring son

In quirky news from China, the “Godmother of Sexual Intelligence” has made a comeback, a new trend of paper robot offerings for ancestors and a mother suffers severe hair loss after years spent tutoring her son. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin/Taobao

So-called sexual godmum, Zhou Yan, above, had her social media account banned earlier this year. Photo: Weibo

This image illustrates an elderly care robot. Now paper versions are on sale to burn for ancestors. Photo: Shutterstock 

The stress of tutoring her son caused the hair of the woman above to fall out. Photo: Baidu

News

People & Culture

Avatar replacement worker on trial with consent of person it replaces; critics of firm say move is a ‘step towards the destruction of humanity’


Avatar replacement worker on trial with consent of person it replaces; critics of firm say move is a ‘step towards the destruction of humanity’.


Artificial intelligence (AI)

Chinese firm slammed for using ex-employee’s data to create ‘AI human’ to continue working

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Avatar replacement worker on trial with consent of person it replaces; critics of firm say move is a ‘step towards the destruction of humanity’

Avatar replacement worker on trial with consent of person it replaces; critics of firm say move is a ‘step towards the destruction of humanity’