31.Even better than the real thing(439)

Passage Thirty-One

Even better than the real thing

甚至比真人还好

【1】Virtual influencers look great and they don't bully their colleagues,South Korean television presenters have been causing trouble. Within the past year one was fired for swearing on live television and another for slandering a dead comedian. A third stands accused(charged) of abusing junior colleagues. A solution is to hand: virtual humans.

虚拟网红魅力无限，“霸凌事件”不再上线，韩国的电视主持人最近频频“塌房”。过去一年里，有人因为在电视直播中说脏话被解雇，有人因诽谤已故喜剧演员被解雇，还有一位被控告霸凌下属。“塌房”事件解决方案触手可及：虚拟人物。

【2】Increasingly common globally, computer-generated influencers are proving especially popular in South Korea. The country’s first, Oh Rozy (“One and Only”), was created by a Seoul-based firm, Locus-X, and appeared on Instagram in 2020.

全球范围内，虚拟网红越来越普遍，它们在韩国尤为受欢迎。韩国第一个虚拟网红Oh Rozy（Oh Rozy在韩语中有“唯一”的意思）由首尔公司Locus-X创建，于2020年在Instagram平台上展露头角。

【3】She purports(claims) to be a beautiful 22-year-old who works as a singer, model and a sustainability champion. Appearing in adverts for companies including Calvin Klein and Tiffany, and in television shows, Rozy, as she is known to fans, is estimated to have made more than 2.5bn won ($1,8m) last year.

Oh Rozy宣称自己是一名22岁的漂亮女性，是一名歌手、模特和可持续发展倡导者，粉丝称Oh Rozy为Rozy。Rozy出现在Calvin Klein和Tiffany等公司的广告中，还参加电视节目，据估计，Rozy去年的收入超过25亿韩元（约180万美元）。

【4】She is perhaps best-known for an advert for an insurance company in which she danced across the rooftops of Seoul.

最让Rozy出名的或许是一家保险公司的广告，在广告中Rozy在首尔的屋顶上跳舞。

【5】After Rozy’s debut more than 150 other digital humans hit South Korea’s social-media and advertising channels in less than three months, according to Baek Seung-yeop, the boss of Locus-X. Virtual K-pop singers are also becoming popular.

Locus-X的老板白承烨表示，Rozy首次亮相后，不到三个月的时间里，就有150多个虚拟网红在韩国的社交媒体和广告平台上应运而生。虚拟韩国流行歌手也越来越受欢迎。

【6】This year the debut single of a computer-generated girl band, MAVE:, featuring four avatars called Siu, Zena, Tyra and Marty, racked up over 26m views on YouTube. South Korea’s tourism board recently made Yeo Lizzie, another digital confection, its honorary ambassador, replacing Son Heung-min, captain of the national football team.

Siu、Zena、Tyra和Marty等虚拟人物组成了名为MAVE的女团，今年，MAVE发行的首支单曲在YouTube上浏览量超过2600万。韩国旅游局最近任命一位虚拟女性Yeo Lizzie担任名誉大使，以代替韩国国家足球队队长孙兴慜。

【7】Generated with 3D-modelling technology and AI, the avatars are stunningly(wonderfully) realistic. Rozy’s 800 expressions are based on a human model. The technology has long been used in films and video games, both South Korean strengths, and is becoming more sophisticated(advanced).

基于3D建模技术和人工智能，虚拟人物的形象极其逼真。Rozy的800种表情都基于人类模型创建。这类技术长期以来一直应用于电影和视频游戏中，并且还在不断进步（电影和视频游戏都是韩国的强项）。

【8】An even bigger change is the avatars’ ability to interact with their audience. Rozy responds to social-media comments(remarks) and holds Q&A sessions with fans. (Asked how she is so stylish(fashionable), she answered that you need to know your body type and to have self-esteem.)

与过去相比，一个更大的变化是虚拟人物能与观众进行互动。Rozy能够回应社交媒体上的评论，与粉丝进行问答。（问到Rozy为何如此时尚时，她回答说要了解自己的体型，要有自信。）

【9】Apart from being cheaper, virtual celebrities have other advantages over human ones. “They don’t complain” and firms “don’t have to worry about them ruining(destroying) their reputation(fame)”, says Kim Sang-kyun from Kangwon National University in Gangwon province.

除却成本更低以外，虚拟网红相对于真人还有其他优势。韩国江源道国立江原大学的金尚均表示，“虚拟网红不会抱怨”，公司也“不必担心他们会毁掉自己的名声”。

【10】Rozy’s success has spawned a sister and twin brothers. Lucy, a virtual face of Lotte, a conglomerate, has booked her first acting gig. South Korea’s newest celebrities may not exist in flesh and blood, but their influence is all too real.

Rozy的成功还催生出一个姐妹和一对双胞胎兄弟。Lucy，乐天集团的虚拟代言人，已经预告了首场演出。韩国最新的网红可能不是血肉之躯，但这些虚拟网红的影响力却是切切实实存在的。