Beijing pilots ID cards for AI digital humans, starting with the virtual idol Yuri

Beijing is piloting identity cards for AI digital humans that record a name, birthday, address and facial features, and that let the digital human’s operators open a digital-currency wallet for business, ABC News reported on October 7, 2026. The first holder was Yuri, a virtual idol who received China’s first government-issued ID for a digital human earlier this year, under a pilot that also made her the country’s first licensed AI artist.

Why it matters: most governments regulate AI avatars through labelling rules. Beijing is trying registration: giving the synthetic performer an identity that is tied to a company.

What does the ID card do?

It gives a digital human a registered identity that can sign up for business. Yuri’s operators can use it to secure partnerships in fashion, gaming and automotive, ABC reported. The Digital Artist Card she received from the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area on June 11 is a compliance certificate under a regulatory sandbox for digital artists, allowing commercial performances during trial operations before full market entry, according to the Beijing government.

The sandbox comes with oversight. A review panel runs pre-admission security reviews covering digital human IP rights, large-model content safety and on-site and online operations, and authorities monitor commercial performances in real time, with alerts and rapid human intervention. Yuri has more than one million followers across platforms, Beijing says.

How does it fit China’s other rules?

There is no unified national system. Shanghai introduced a blockchain system in 2024 that gives digital humans a permanent serial number, and in September Beijing issued a practice guide urging broadcasting and online video services to register theirs, ABC reported. Chinese authorities also use digital humans themselves, to explain policy and answer public enquiries at dozens of local agencies.

The European approach is different. The EU’s AI Act sets transparency obligations so that synthetic content is disclosed as such; see our report on transparency rules for avatars. Labelling tells the viewer a face is synthetic. Registration tells the state who is behind it.

What are the arguments?

Supporters say registration protects intellectual property and cuts scams, a live issue after state media reported AI “doctors” giving false medical advice and celebrities’ faces were used without permission. Jeannie Paterson of the University of Melbourne told ABC that registration would trace wrongdoing to the company that deployed the AI, since a digital human cannot be sued or imprisoned. Lennon Chang of Deakin University warned it could unmask anonymous users and push businesses to self-censor. For how Korea’s agencies own their virtual idols, see who owns what.