Young Chinese Use 'AI Professor' to Make Parents Stop Believing in Superstitions

A young person in China has an unusual way of dealing with parents who like to believe myths and give old-fashioned advice. Rather than replying with a long debate, he creates a ‘fake professor’ using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The professor appears as a virtual character designed to resemble a dignified middle-aged man. This figure is then used as the ‘central character’ in a social media account. The account’s name is ‘Lao Zhao jiang dao li’, which translates into Indonesian as ‘Mr Zhao speaks sensibly’. The topics discussed are closely aligned with modern youth concerns, including pressure to marry quickly and career choices dictated by parents. The young creator of the fake account says he deliberately created the ‘Mr Zhao’ character because he felt his own advice was often not taken seriously. He says his parents are more easily persuaded by someone who looks older, educated and authoritative than by their own child. He also says he often receives articles containing old-fashioned views and advice that are deemed no longer relevant to young people’s lives today. One example is the belief that a child must marry quickly or that certain jobs are more successful than others. Exhausted from arguing, the young person eventually tried to convey the message through the fake ‘Mr Zhao’ figure who is seen as more believable by parents. To appear more convincing, the fake ‘Mr Zhao’ was crafted to resemble a genuine academic. In the account’s profile, he is portrayed as a retired professor from Chongqing who has studied parent-child relations for more than 30 years. He is also claimed to have studied in Singapore and published various scientific publications. In reality, all of these identities are fictional and merely a fabrication.