The advancement of technology has always been a driving force behind social progress. Successive technological revolutions have liberated humanity from inefficient and repetitive labor, enabling people to engage in more creative and valuable fields and industries.
Much like the invention of the compass, the steam engine, and the internet, the rise of AI is bound to transform production and operational models across various sectors—especially in industries with high labor costs and repetitive tasks, where its impact will be particularly significant.
Since 2018, short dramas have rapidly emerged as a new form of entertainment, capturing widespread attention in China with their compact storytelling and immersive experience.
As market competition intensifies, many producers are turning to overseas markets in search of new expansion opportunities. However, language localization stands as the first hurdle for global expansion—and dubbing is a key part of the solution.
While traditional voice acting offers strong expressiveness, it comes with drawbacks such as high costs, long production cycles, and limited language support.
These challenges become even more pronounced given the fast-paced nature of short dramas. After multi-dimensional evaluation, AI dubbing has been proposed as a potential solution. But for the short drama industry, is AI dubbing a “savior” or a “sabotage”?
From the perspective of efficiency and cost, AI undoubtedly plays the role of a “savior”.
First, AI can generate dubbed content in multiple languages within minutes, offering low trial costs and high efficiency—perfectly aligning with the short-drama market’s demand for speed and precision.
Second, production teams no longer need to assemble multinational dubbing team, saving on recording and post-production expenses. Finally, AI can generate voices of different ages and genders while ensuring consistent tone and high sound quality.
However, from the standpoint of emotional expression and user experience, AI dubbing has obvious flaws that could lead to disastrous outcomes.
AI struggles to accurately imitate human emotions or capture subtle nuances such as hesitation or trembling. This often results in flat or emotionally misplaced performances, failing to convey dramatic tension.
Moreover, when AI-generated voices come close to human speech but still sound slightly unnatural, it can trigger the “uncanny valley” effect, causing discomfort or even aversion among audiences.
Lastly, the overuse of similar or identical voice libraries may lead to content homogenization, reducing distinctiveness and causing viewer fatigue—ultimately damaging the long-term value of content brands.
On one hand, AI dubbing significantly improves efficiency and reduces costs; on the other, it lacks emotional depth and may mass-produce generic content. Therefore, it would be biased to simply label it as either a “savior” or a “sabotage.” A more balanced perspective is needed to recognize its dual-edged effect.
A promising path forward is to establish a human-machine collaborative dubbing model: AI generates the initial version, and professional voice directors and actors refine it with emotional calibration and rhythmic adjustments.
This approach leverages both the efficiency of AI and the creative expertise of humans. Furthermore, as technology continues to evolve—with more advanced models incorporating emotional computing and voice conversion—AI dubbing is expected to become more natural and expressive.
In conclusion, AI dubbing has both advantages and disadvantages. Producers should adopt it rationally and objectively as a supportive tool rather than a complete solution. The true breakthrough for short dramas globalization lies in combining human creativity with AI’s automation, striking a balance between efficiency and quality.
