August 16, 2026

China built the AI content factory that Silicon Valley imagined but never shipped

a table with chairs and a television
Vizito Visitor Management / Unsplash

In January 2026, a new AI-generated micro-drama went live on a Chinese streaming platform every 90 seconds. By March, approximately 50,000 AI-native titles had been added to Douyin in a single month. The production cost was roughly one-tenth of a liv...