When Virtual Faces Reality

At the end of last year, Cui Xiaopan won the outstanding employee award for her performance at China’s leading real estate developer China Vanke. Since joining the Finance Department of Vanke in February 2021, she has quickly learned how to spot problems in processing data. In the eyes of her superiors, Cui is a fast learner and can work thousands of times more efficiently than her colleagues; what’s impressive is that she is able to work year-round without taking a day off—or getting paid.

Cui is a virtual employee developed by artificial intelligence (AI) scientist Shen Xiangyang