BiliBili at the World AI Conference: Key takeaways
- BiliBili has brought creator-made AI projects to WAIC, turning the conference into a physical showcase for its growing grassroots AI community
- Its exhibits show how accessible AI tools are broadening participation beyond professional developers and well-funded start-ups
- A programme of live video podcasts and robot pop-ups also positions BiliBili as a channel for AI-industry news, discussion and fandom
BiliBili has been at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC). It’s not a place you might expect the video platform to show up, but they’ve got good reason to be there. They’ve also made the most of the visibility it’s given them. In doing so, they’ve showcased a touch of the unconventional and an element that is rarely seen on a corporate exhibition stand.
Let’s wheel it back. BiliBili launched an AI creation competition in June where they invited users to submit original AI works. More than 4,000 creators entered within a month, and of that, a selection of projects has now made its offline debut at WAIC.
An offline debut for original AI creations
The most memorable is perhaps a 3D-printed ‘time-travel telephone’ from creator Qimiaolabi-Duqian’a. The creator used AI to recreate his late father’s voice and built a device through which he could speak the words he felt were left unsaid. Other works include Music on Paper, which turns handwritten notes into instruments, and Xianbian OS, a self-built operating system.
These are not, for the most part, projects from established developers with huge audiences. BiliBili says many came from creators with fewer than 10,000 followers and no professional development background. A physics teacher, novelist, rural school student and full-time mother are among those using AI tools to move into creative and technical work.
BiliBili bucks the usual state of affairs at WAIC
The platform is also running a ‘BiliBili x WAIC AI Lounge’ in the Expo area, with 10 live video podcasts across the conference’s three days. AI-focused BiliBili creators will interview figures from Huawei HiSilicon, Rokid, Galbot, Linear Capital and the OpenClaw ecosystem, covering topics including AI agents, domestic chips and embodied intelligence.
It makes for a useful contrast with the rest of WAIC, where the spotlight tends to fall on large-model launches, hardware breakthroughs and major corporate partnerships. Through this format, BiliBili is making the case that AI’s cultural impact will also be shaped by the people using it.
The Dao view: BiliBili is making a powerful statement at the World AI conference
WAIC is usually a showcase for the major companies building China’s AI future. BiliBili’s contribution is a reminder that the tech these titans create becomes culturally powerful only when ordinary users start finding their own uses for it.
The platform’s message is a powerful one, and the fact that it bucks the usual state of affairs at WAIC makes it all the more prominent. For a platform interested in becoming the space where AI-generated content is promoted, not shunned, that’s a powerful message.
