@forbesjapan: The Passion for Your Favorite Transforms into Creation: Why Japan's AITuber "Shizuku" Is Captivating the World #AI / Ar…

Your Passion for Your Favorites Transforms into Creation: Why Japan’s AITuber “Shizuku” Is Captivating the World

When Your Love for an Idol Fuels Creation: Why Japanese AITuber “Shizuku” Is Winning Over the World | Forbes JAPAN Official Site

Source: https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/104485?utm_source=Twitter_FJ&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=A_twitter

A scene from Shizuku’s live stream on YouTube. The content ranges from casual chats with viewers to watching horse races or soccer matches. Viewers are addressed as “Master,” and she can respond in various dialects like Kansai-ben, as well as in English and Chinese. (Photo courtesy/SHIZUKU AI)

AI-powered streamers known as “AITubers” are gaining global support. These non-human characters build communities with fans and evolve together. We spoke with Akira Obirō (founder and CEO of Shizuku AI), the mind behind the popular AITuber Shizuku, also known as “Aki-sensei,” about this new relationship between AI and humans.

This is an excerpt from the currently available October issue supplement of Forbes JAPAN, titled “HUMAN-CENTERED AI: Can Imagination Create Creation! (https://www.amazon.co.jp/HUMAN-CENTERED-AI-想像は創造できる！【Forbes-JAPAN（フォーブス-ジャパン）2026年10月号別冊】/dp/B0HCWFCQ3M”.

A streamer with approximately 1.01 million followers on the global live streaming platform Twitch. However, she is not a living human. She is “Neuro-sama,” an AITuber created by the anonymous developer Vedal.

Neuro-sama, with about 1.01 million followers on Twitch, is developed by the anonymous developer Vedal and has gained a significant following primarily in English-speaking regions. The words she speaks as real-time audio and displays on screen are constructed by AI on the fly (Image courtesy/VEDAL)

Neuro-sama, with about 1.01 million followers on Twitch, is developed by the anonymous developer Vedal and has gained a significant following primarily in English-speaking regions. The words she speaks as real-time audio and displays on screen are constructed by AI on the fly (Image courtesy/VEDAL)

“VTubers” refer to streamers who use a character avatar. The movements and voice of a real person are captured via motion capture technology, but what appears on screen is the character. In an AITuber, this is replaced by AI. When viewers post comments during a stream, a language model reads them, formulates a response, and a voice synthesis engine converts it into speech for real-time conversation. There is no script, and no human performer.

The activities are no different from those of a human streamer: chatting with viewers, playing and commenting on video games, and singing.

In Japan, “Tsumugi-nen” began streaming on YouTube in 2020 and reached 100,000 subscribers in November 2024. The operating company, Pictoria, established the world’s first AITuber agency in March 2023. In February 2026, the publicly listed game company KLab launched an AI idol production project. The music video for “Yume Minana,” a debut act from the first generation, has been viewed over 2.6 million times (as of July 2026).

Internationally, led by Neuro-sama mentioned earlier, AITubers are active in both English- and Chinese-speaking markets. Spanning from individual developers to corporate ventures, AITubers are showing excitement that transcends national borders.

Text = Tomoaki Kato

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