At the 2026 iQiyi iJOY Autumn Showcase held this afternoon, iQiyi Inc. founder and CEO Gong Yu delivered a keynote address, highlighting the transformative potential of AI for long-form video content. Citing the "Jevons paradox," he explained that if the production cost per unit of content duration drops by an order of magnitude to just one-tenth of its current level, while quality remains largely unchanged, the number of creators could multiply tenfold, the volume of works could expand a hundredfold, and consumer engagement would surge dramatically.

Gong Yu noted that this pattern has repeatedly played out across the internet industry over the past one to two decades. He pointed to the rise of short-video platforms: "With the advent of smartphones, creators could simply film, edit, and upload, slashing the cost of producing short videos. This triggered an explosion in both creators and content, which is exactly how Douyin and Kuaishou took off." He drew a parallel to short dramas, whose production costs are roughly one-tenth of traditional long-form productions or even lower—a factor that has fueled their explosive growth as well.

Gong Yu argued that AI presents a similar opportunity for long-form works: as costs decline, the number of creators will multiply, the volume of productions will soar, and consumer demand will rise correspondingly, propelling the entire industry into a virtuous cycle. "While the revenue generated by tech-driven innovations is still modest at this stage, the underlying principles remain steadfast, and the future will inevitably unfold along these trajectories. We are already seeing early data that confirms this trend, and we are genuinely thrilled to witness it—what the internet community would call 'pure jubilation.'"