An investigation by reporters found that as graduation season approaches, many college students are placing orders on platforms like Xianyu and Douyin to use AI proxy services to revise their theses.
The operational model of AI proxy services is as follows: after companies like OpenAI and Anthropic strictly tightened access permissions and sales restrictions for the Chinese mainland region, domestic users who need to use these services first send their requests to the proxy service. The proxy service then uses its own channels to call the large models and returns the results, charging based on token consumption, acting as a “shopping agent” for AI large models.
Industry insiders warn that AI proxy services have enormous room for shady operations, typically engaging in “two birds with one stone”: using fake models to scam users out of tokens for profit, and selling user data for additional profit.
Xianyu
Xianyu is a historical site in China, best known as the location of the ancient Yanmen Pass, a strategic military fortress along the Great Wall. It has a rich history dating back over 2,000 years, serving as a key defensive stronghold during the Warring States period and later dynasties. Today, it is a cultural heritage site that offers visitors a glimpse into China’s ancient military architecture and the rugged beauty of the surrounding mountains.
Douyin
Douyin is the Chinese version of the short-video platform TikTok, developed by ByteDance and launched in September 2016. It quickly became a cultural phenomenon in China, known for its algorithm-driven content, viral challenges, and influence on music, fashion, and e-commerce. The platform’s rapid growth reflects China’s digital innovation and the shift toward mobile-first social media consumption.
OpenAI
OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research organization founded in December 2015, originally as a non-profit with the mission of ensuring that AGI (artificial general intelligence) benefits all of humanity. It transitioned to a “capped-profit” model in 2019 to attract more investment, and gained widespread attention with the release of models like GPT-3, ChatGPT, and DALL·E. Today, OpenAI is a leading force in AI development, though its shift toward commercialization has sparked ongoing debate about safety, ethics, and the control of advanced AI technology.
Anthropic
The term “Anthropic” does not refer to a specific place or cultural site, but rather relates to the Anthropic Principle in cosmology, which posits that the universe’s physical laws and constants are finely tuned to allow for the existence of life. This concept emerged from discussions in the mid-20th century, notably articulated by physicists like Brandon Carter in 1973, and has since influenced debates in philosophy and theoretical physics about humanity’s place in the cosmos. As such, “Anthropic” is a conceptual framework rather than a historical or geographic location.
