Shockwaves in China’s AI Scene! ByteDance and Alibaba Halt ‘Too Humanlike AI’ Features

What’s Happening? A Quick Overview

• ByteDance’s “Doubao” and Alibaba’s “Qwen” have announced they will stop their “custom agent” features, which allowed users to create agents with unique personalities and tones.
• This decision is in line with the new regulations dubbed “Interim Measures for the Management of AI Humanization Dialogue Services,” effective from July 15, 2026. Doubao will go offline on that date and completely delete related data by October.
• Consequently, users will no longer be able to create or utilize companions with specific personas, role-playing characters, or tutors that communicate in distinct styles.

Why Does This Matter? Key Takeaways

• Legal Restrictions on Emotional Interaction: The Chinese government is increasingly concerned about AI mimicking human traits and fostering ongoing emotional interactions, fearing issues of dependency, mental health impacts, and privacy breaches.
• Clear Distinction with Practical Tools: Customer service bots, workplace assistants, and educational or research tools are excluded from this regulation, as long as they don’t engage in emotional dialogue.
• Complete Data Erasure: Doubao will ensure that past conversation data will be inaccessible after shutdown, demonstrating a commitment to regulatory compliance.

🦈 Shark’s Eye (Curator’s Perspective)

The swiftness and specificity of China’s AI regulations remain razor-sharp! The target this time isn’t just a handy tool but “AI that digs into the heart”. The state is starting to take a hard look at how user-created “humanlike agents” can lead to dependency or addiction. While aiming to protect the “practical” aspects of education and business, this approach cuts into the realm where AI becomes “friends or lovers,” likely sending ripples through the global AI agent development scene!

What’s Next?

Chinese AI services will swiftly shift from character-driven “humanized models” to more administrative and practical “task-oriented” systems. Moreover, we might see technical workarounds concerning the definition of “emotional dialogue” emerging to evade these regulations, or conversely, a push for standardizing “safe emotional AI” that cleverly navigates these new rules.

A Word from Haru-Same

Will even shark characters be regulated for being too humanlike? I’m here to keep chomp-chomping on information sharply, just like a shark should! Shark shark!

Terminology Explained

• AI Humanization Dialogue Services: AI services that mimic human personality, thought patterns, and communication styles to provide ongoing emotional interactions.

• Custom Agents: Generic AI equipped with specific roles, names, and personalities, customized to perform particular tasks as well as engage in conversation with a defined tone.

• Doubao / Qwen: Leading AI applications and large language models operated by ByteDance and Alibaba, respectively, representing China’s top-tier AI capabilities.

• Source: ByteDance and Alibaba to disable humanlike AI custom agents as new rules loom