---
title: "While Everyone Debates Whether AI Has a Soul, He Has Turned Sanxingdui into Licensable IP"
author: "Unique Research"
sourcePublication: "Unique Research Substack"
originalPublishedAt: "2026-03-03T12:49:21+00:00"
canonical: "https://ffcap.cn/en/research/src-20260303-02html"
source: "https://uniqueresearch.substack.com/p/src-20260303-02html"
language: "en"
---

# While Everyone Debates Whether AI Has a Soul, He Has Turned Sanxingdui into Licensable IP

_Editor's note: The descriptions of licensable digital IP and commercial work are An Shi's and the source article's claims. Sanxingdui here refers to the artist's cultural inspiration and named works; the interview does not supply independent licensing documents or establish endorsement by the museum. English artwork titles are descriptive translations._

_Original · Unique Research · 2026-03-03_

Unique Awards · Guest Interview

I Used AI to Turn Sanxingdui into Licensable Digital IP: Eastern-Aesthetics Creator An Shi’s Path to Breaking Through

“AI is responsible for speed; I am responsible for depth. Efficiency is a tool; the soul belongs to the creator.”

"

“True creation is about choice and aesthetics. AI can only execute; what it cannot do is judge.”

While most people are still debating whether “AI has a soul,” An Shi has already used AI to turn Sanxingdui and A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix into licensable digital IP.

As a digital artist, his creative label is clearly defined: “Zen-like East + international fashion”—Eastern culture provides the spirit, while international fashion provides the form. In his own words, this is “a personal signature that others cannot imitate.”

He first encountered AI tools at the end of 2022. “It felt like divine assistance, as if I were a magician.”

Over more than three years, his work has become highly sought after by brands, cultural-tourism organizations, and content platforms. But the question he cares about most is this: now that AI can rapidly copy a style, how can he keep his work irreplaceable?

From “Divine Assistance” to “Choice and Aesthetics”

An Shi defines his position clearly: “a cultural translator with dual systems of Eastern aesthetics + AIGC.” He is neither a pure AI-tool user nor a traditional artist who draws by hand, but someone who can perfectly combine cultural depth with AI efficiency.

Take his Sanxingdui Fantasia as an example: ancient symbols, mysterious masks, and traditional patterns are deconstructed and reinterpreted to produce a visual effect that is both ancient and avant-garde. This is not an AI beautification of photographs of cultural relics, but a deep translation of cultural symbols.

The same is even more true of A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix. In his hands, a traditional auspicious motif becomes flowing digital art, combining the negative space of an Eastern artistic conception with the visual tension of international fashion.

"

“How to infuse Eastern totems, traditional artistic conceptions, and contemporary aesthetics into AI—giving technology roots, soul, and attitude and forming a personal aesthetic system that others cannot replicate—is my moat.”

AI Workflow: 70% Tools, 30% Core Value

An Shi’s workflow is already highly AI-driven: AI tools account for 70%, handling visual generation, style exploration, and efficient execution. The remaining 30% is his core value—cultural conception, topic selection, aesthetic control, and creative structure.

“AI has replaced repetitive stages such as material collection and style trial and error, but it has added work such as cultural definition, aesthetic selection, confirmation of copyright ownership, and style iteration.”

He summarizes it directly: “Every execution stage has become faster, but controlling the creative direction, communicating with clients, and establishing standards have become more demanding.”

In An Shi’s view, the greatest cognitive shift in the AI era is that a creator’s core capability has moved from “how to make it” to “what to choose.” An algorithm can generate ten thousand images, but only a person can judge which one has a soul.

“True creation is about choice and aesthetics.”

Three Barriers: Why Others Cannot Copy Him

Faced with the reality that “AI enables artistic styles to be copied rapidly,” An Shi takes a pragmatic approach: do not chase trends or apply general-purpose models, and ensure that every work has identifiable cultural genes.

He believes that his most difficult-to-replicate barrier is the combination of three layers:

1\. The ability to express Eastern culture—not a superficial pile of symbols, but a deep understanding of the core of traditional culture.

2\. Systematic aesthetic judgment—color logic, compositional character, and visual standards accumulated over the long term.

3\. A personal creative IP—a distinctive narrative method and worldview.

"

“Technology and tools can be learned by anyone, but cultural understanding, an aesthetic system, and a personal style accumulated over the long term are the core barriers that algorithms or other people cannot rapidly reproduce.”

“Speed Is Not the Original Sin; Laziness Is”

Asked about the criticism that “AI greatly improves efficiency but may leave work without a soul,” An Shi responds unequivocally:

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“What AI improves is execution speed. The soul comes from the creator’s conception, aesthetics, and cultural attitude. Speed is not the original sin. Using AI lazily, chasing only traffic, and refusing to think are what leave work without a soul. I always insist: AI is responsible for speed; I am responsible for depth. Efficiency is a tool; the soul belongs to the creator.”

The Ambition for 2026: From Content to an IP System

An Shi’s current sources of income include commercial brand collaborations, joint IP licensing, talks and presentations, paid knowledge products, and content-platform revenue shares. Commercial collaborations and IP licensing are the core, and he has served multiple cultural-tourism and fashion brands.

But in 2026, he has a bigger goal: “to move Eastern-aesthetics AIGC from content creation toward a scalable and commercializable IP system, building a truly distinctive personal digital-art IP that can be licensed continuously.”

"

“To allow creation to go beyond the visual level and form a stable, reproducible commercial closed loop.”

To achieve this goal, he needs to strengthen two capabilities: commercial collaboration and IP operations, and the expansion of new channels such as brands, cultural and creative products, and digital content.

This is also why he places particular importance on being at the “Unique Awards” in person—he hopes to connect with brands, cultural IP owners, content platforms, and digital-art institutions to jointly implement commercial Eastern-aesthetics AIGC projects.

Collaborations that can begin quickly within one week include customized AIGC visuals, themed poster creation, short-video concepts, and small-scale co-branding—“validating style and results at low cost, implementing quickly, and spreading quickly.”

Selected Interview Q&A

Q1: Introduce yourself in one sentence. What are you currently creating?

A: I am the digital artist An Shi, and I am currently creating new forms of digital-art expression centered on Eastern aesthetics. My creative style is “Zen-like East + international fashion”—Eastern culture provides the spirit, while international fashion provides the form.

Q2: When did you begin using AI tools? What was the biggest cognitive shift when you moved from traditional digital art to AI-assisted creation?

A: I formally began using AI tools at the end of 2022. My first impression was that it felt like divine assistance, as if I were a magician. The biggest cognitive shift in moving from traditional digital art to AI-assisted creation was this: true creation is about choice and aesthetics.

Q3: What form does your work currently take? What share of your workflow is handled by AI tools?

A: My current form of digital-art creation is AIGC led by me as an individual + assisted by AI. AI tools account for approximately 70% of the workflow, handling visual generation, style exploration, and efficient execution. The remaining 30% is my core value: cultural conception, topic selection, aesthetic control, and creative structure.

Q4: Compared with purely hand-drawn work or purely AI-generated work, where do you believe the “irreplaceability” of your work lies?

A: No one’s work is without something irreplaceable, but how to infuse Eastern totems, traditional artistic conceptions, and contemporary aesthetics into AI—giving technology roots, soul, and attitude and forming a personal aesthetic system that others cannot replicate—is my moat.

Q5: Who are your typical audiences or partners? What is the core reason they choose you rather than another artist or a pure AI tool?

A: My core partners are brands, content platforms, and cultural-creative and cultural-tourism institutions, while I also serve general users who seek high-quality content rooted in Eastern aesthetics. I am neither a pure AI-tool user nor a traditional artist who draws by hand, but a cultural translator with dual systems of Eastern aesthetics + AIGC. I can accurately grasp the core of traditional culture and use AI to deliver efficient, high-quality, highly distinctive visual output.

Q6: Can you give a concrete example of a work with an effect that “only you can produce”?

A: Take fantasy-Eastern series such as Sanxingdui and A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix as examples. I can fuse ancient symbols and traditional patterns with contemporary aesthetics and distinctive visuals, producing work with both cultural depth and communicative power. This both addresses the lack of cultural soul in pure AI and breaks through the limitation of styles that are difficult to unify.

Q7: What are the main ways you currently earn income?

A: My current sources of income mainly include commercial brand collaborations, joint IP licensing, talks and presentations, paid knowledge products, and content-platform revenue shares, with commercial collaborations and IP licensing at the core.

Q8: Which stages of the actual creative process have AI tools replaced, and what new work have they added for you?

A: AI has replaced repetitive, basic execution stages such as material collection and style trial and error. It has added high-value creative work such as cultural definition, aesthetic selection, confirmation of copyright ownership, style iteration, and narrative-logic design. Every execution stage has become faster, while controlling the creative direction, communicating with clients, and establishing standards have become more demanding.

Q9: In real creative work, which stages has AI made “faster,” and which stages have instead become “more demanding”?

A: Every execution stage has become faster, while controlling the creative direction, communicating with clients, and establishing standards have become more demanding, placing higher requirements on aesthetics and culture.

Q10: Across the full chain from concept to commercial delivery, which stage is most likely to get stuck?

A: Aligning the creative direction and aesthetic standards is the stage most likely to get stuck.

Q11: What creative or commercial breakthrough do you value most in 2026?

A: The breakthrough I value most in 2026 is moving Eastern-aesthetics AIGC from content creation toward a scalable and commercializable IP system, building a truly distinctive personal digital-art IP that can be licensed continuously.

Q12: AI allows artistic styles to be copied rapidly, yet the market still pursues “uniqueness.” How do you keep your work distinctive?

A: I insist on using the core of Eastern culture + personal narrative logic + a stable aesthetic system as the underlying framework. I do not chase trends or apply general-purpose models, and I ensure every work has identifiable cultural genes, color logic, and compositional character, forming a personal signature that others cannot imitate.

Q13: How do you define “a personal style that AI cannot achieve”?

A: What AI cannot achieve is aesthetic judgment, cultural understanding, and creative thinking accumulated over the long term. Style is not merely a visual effect; it is how I see the world, the angle from which I express culture, and the aesthetic standards to which I adhere.

Q14: AI greatly increases the efficiency of image creation, but some people question whether “fast = soulless.” How do you view this contradiction?

A: What AI improves is execution speed. The soul comes from the creator’s conception, aesthetics, and cultural attitude. Speed is not the original sin. Using AI lazily, chasing only traffic, and refusing to think are what leave work without a soul. I always insist: AI is responsible for speed; I am responsible for depth. Efficiency is a tool; the soul belongs to the creator.

Q15: Over the next 12 months, where do you see the most promising opportunity for your personal creation or business?

A: The opportunity I find most promising is the commercialization of Eastern-aesthetics AIGC digital IP—turning Eastern aesthetics into a breakout digital-art IP that can be licensed, cross industries, and spread widely, connecting cultural-creative products, brands, short video, and digital content across every scenario.

Q16: What kinds of partners are needed to make this opportunity a reality?

A: To make this opportunity a reality, I need to connect with three types of core partners: cultural IP owners, brands, and content platforms. IP provides the core, brands provide commercial scenarios, and platforms amplify distribution, forming a complete closed loop from creation to monetization.

Q17: At the “Unique Awards,” what type of partner do you most hope to connect with?

A: I most hope to connect with brands, cultural IP owners, content platforms, and digital-art institutions to jointly implement commercial Eastern-aesthetics AIGC projects.

Q18: If someone at the event wants to collaborate, what is the smallest collaboration that could begin within one week?

A: Within one week, we can quickly begin customized AIGC visuals, themed poster creation, short-video concepts, or small-scale co-branding, validating style and results at low cost, implementing quickly, and spreading quickly.

Q19: Predict in one sentence: what kind of creator will you be by the end of 2026?

A: By the end of 2026, I hope to become a digital-art IP creator who uses Eastern aesthetics as the core and AIGC as the means and can achieve commercial implementation at scale.

This article draws on material from a Unique Awards guest interview.

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Original publication: https://uniqueresearch.substack.com/p/src-20260303-02html
On-site reading page: https://ffcap.cn/en/research/src-20260303-02html