APUS Li Tao: AI Makes Art “What You Think Is What You See”

To implement the “AI+” national strategy as outlined in the State Council’s Opinions on Deepening the Implementation of the ‘Artificial Intelligence+’ Initiative (Guofa [2025] No. 11) and accelerate design innovation and new quality productivity, the 28th Beijing Science and Technology Exchange Academic Month · 2025 Original Design and Intellectual Property Expert Forum was held on October 18, 2025, at the China Workers’ Center. The forum brought together leading experts and industry leaders in artificial intelligence, design innovation, and intellectual property to discuss in depth the theme of “AI Empowering Original Design and Artistic Innovation.”

Li Tao, Chairman and CEO of global AI enterprise APUS (Qilin Hesheng Network Technology Co., Ltd.), was invited to deliver the keynote speech titled “Development Trends and Application Exploration of AI+Art”, sharing the latest practices and forward-looking insights on AI integration with the arts.

APUS Empowers Globally with AI

In his speech, Li Tao outlined APUS’s development and global expansion. As one of China’s first internet unicorns to succeed internationally, APUS has traversed cycles from the Internet era to the AI era, leveraging a decade of technological accumulation and continuous innovation to transform into a global AI-focused technology company. Its AI products and services now reach over 200 countries and regions, support 25 languages, and serve more than 2.4 billion users worldwide.

The company has built an AI ecosystem based on general-purpose large models, including industry-specific models such as the Qihuang Medical Large Model, Taibo Education Large Model, Zhixin Cyber Intelligence Model, Yunmeng Creative Model, and Zhicao Traditional Chinese Medicine Model. This forms a comprehensive AI matrix serving C-end users, B-end enterprises, and G-end governments. Li Tao emphasized: “Through our ‘AI+Globalization’ strategy, APUS aims to create a future-oriented global intelligent ecosystem, making AI a bridge connecting culture and creativity.”

Three Evolutions of AI+Art: From “Can Draw” to “Understands the World”

In his keynote “Development Trends and Application Exploration of AI+Art”, Li Tao categorized AI+Art evolution into three dimensions: static visuals, dynamic narratives, and interactive experiences.

• Static Visuals: AI has evolved from “can draw” to “understands drawing,” possessing compositional logic, physical knowledge, and emotional semantic understanding. APUS’s proprietary image-generation models have achieved breakthroughs in poster design, brand visual identity (VI) creation, and advertising content generation, realizing the vision of “AI visual designers.”
• Dynamic Narratives: AI video and audio generation models, such as Sora 2, are revolutionizing content production. Leveraging advanced global video models, APUS enables full automation from ad material analysis and viral creative copywriting to AI-generated short films, music videos, and promotional videos. Li Tao shared an example of an APUS hackathon MV fully generated by AI in just 3 hours, demonstrating efficiency and creative potential.
• Interactive Experiences: Li Tao highlighted the potential of “world models,” such as Google Genie 3, which generate interactive virtual worlds consistent with physical logic. Users can “step into the artwork” and reshape content and artistic scenes in real time. “World models turn audiences from observers into participants, from ‘watching art’ to ‘living in art,’” Li Tao noted, marking the advent of a new era of embodied intelligence in AI art.

AI Democratizes Art: Creativity Without Barriers

Li Tao emphasized that AI not only transforms art production but also reshapes its social value. “AI enables artistic equality, allowing anyone to express creativity and emotion through AI.”

With AI, designers, creators, and even ordinary users can generate artworks via natural language, lowering technical barriers and unleashing mass creativity. For example, APUS collaborated with Elephant News on the AI digital revival project “Drama of the Nation”, using AI to bring Peking Opera performer Chang Xiangyu “back on stage,” recognized as a 2024 China Positive Energy Internet Highlight. “AI makes art more accessible and revives classics,” Li Tao remarked, “AI accelerates the rise of artists.”

Conclusion: AI Realizes “What You Think Is What You See”

Li Tao concluded: “AI breakthroughs and generalization allow art to truly become ‘what you think is what you see.’ AI democratizes art, realizing genuine UGC. AI technology will bring a new wave of public artistic innovation, enabling everyone to participate in digital art creation. Hidden grassroots artists will emerge, empowered by AI.” He posed a question to the audience: Will AI+Art generate new, native forms of artistic expression?

As China’s Palantir, a pioneer in internet globalization, and a leader in AI industrial applications, APUS will continue to deepen AI+Art research and applications, promoting AI innovation in design, film, culture, and education, and helping Chinese original design and digital culture reach a global audience.