ME News message, September 22 (UTC+8). In a rapid update on Beating AI, Goldman Sachs’ latest research report points out that AI is reshaping China’s cultural and entertainment industry value chain: content supply is approaching “infinite,” while users’ time and attention remain limited. This contradiction will further drive industry profits to concentrate among top IPs and distribution platforms. The report shows that multimodal AI has reduced production costs for animation, music, ad videos, and short dramas by 80% to 95%, while boosting production efficiency by 5 to 10 times. In the first eight months of 2026, the output of short dramas and mini-series rose 13-fold compared with all of 2025; the number of new game releases grew by more than 8 times. On Redguo, a leading short-drama platform, more than 90% of episodes have adopted AI-generated content. Goldman Sachs believes the content-supply boom brought by AI does not necessarily mean every link in the industry chain will benefit. The value of traditional production and execution will be compressed, while the scarcity of top IP and creative assets becomes even more pronounced. Content distribution platforms are expected to benefit from supply growth, but competitive barriers built on licensed content libraries may also face shocks from an AI-content surge. Looking at sub-sectors, Goldman Sachs says online games are relatively more resilient. Major publishers such as Tencent and NetEase are expected to use AI to extend the life cycle of mature IP. Long-form video platforms may benefit from lower costs in the short term, but in the long run they face pressures such as slowing user time and AI content disrupting advantages tied to licensed content. In addition, AI in cultural and entertainment sectors still faces two major risks: difficulty in monetization and tightening regulation. (Source: ME)