The use of virtual influencers is not new: Barbie already has millions of followers on Instagram.
Paris:
Social media influencers have adopted artificial intelligence to spice up their content, but they also face increasing competition from AI-generated Instagram users, TikTok users and YouTube users.
Aitana Lopez, who has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and is described as a “gamer at heart” and a “fitness junkie” – has pink hair and wears lingerie, swimsuits or workout clothes. ”, but she’s not real.
Aitana was created by Barcelona-based company The Clueless, which describes itself as an “AI modeling agency” run by “visionaries on a mission to redefine the world of influencers.”
Sofia Novales, program manager for The Clueless, said the “increased costs associated with influencers” were one of the reasons for the company’s launch.
“Virtual models are digital and provide a more economical option,” Novales said.
Another plus: complete control over your content.
“The advantage is unparalleled creative control, allowing for seamless decision-making on imagery, fashion and aesthetics without the need for an actual shoot,” said Novales.
The rise of artificial intelligence has raised concerns about the proliferation of deepfake videos that could be used for malicious purposes.
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, said on Friday it would start adding “AI-made tags” to AI-generated content in May.
Artificial intelligence presents a huge opportunity for content creators: the influencer market is expected to grow rapidly, from $16.5 billion in 2022 to nearly $200 billion in 2032, according to Allied Market Research.
young audience
The use of virtual influencers is not new: Barbie already has millions of followers on Instagram.
But they are now used in advertising and it is impossible to distinguish them from real people.
Take Lil Miquela, a “19-year-old robot living in Los Angeles” created in 2016 by a California agency.
Lil Maqueta has 2.6 million followers on Instagram and 3.5 million followers on TikTok, and has promoted major brands such as BMW.
The idea was to “create something that has never been seen before,” the German premium carmaker said in a statement to AFP.
“Attracting the young, tech-savvy generation is the icing on the cake for us,” it said.
Maud Lejeune, head of Paris-based digital strategy agency AD Crew, said it would not be difficult for the public to accept AI influencers.
“It’s like actors on TV: we know it’s not real, but we follow them and we find it entertaining, like watching a miniseries.”
AD Crew represents more than 30 influencers, but Lejeune created his own virtual influencer, Metagaya, two years ago.
“The current level of design didn’t exist at that time. It was technical, you had to dress them, photograph the background, create a story,” said Lejeune, who admits that Metagaya didn’t turn out well.
Rapid technological advances such as OpenAI’s Sora video generator can make it easier to create and operate realistic virtual influencers.
deepfake
Human influencers are also leveraging AI technology to create better videos.
Charles Sterlings of France saw an opportunity to improve translation.
He uses different tools on platforms like HeyGen and Rask.ai to automatically translate and lip-sync his video posts into English and Spanish.
Sterlings also uses Deepshot, a platform that allows users to create deepfakes by altering the speech and mouth movements of people in real videos.
He said it only took him a few minutes and a few dollars to manipulate the video of French President Emmanuel Macron.
But Strings sees the technology as a competitor as well as a useful tool.
“Anyone with a mobile phone can be an influencer. But ultimately, it will be artificial intelligence, available 24 hours a day, and it will be much cheaper to develop,” he said.
For Maud Lejeune, AI can help influencers produce more content.
“Putting yourself in front of the camera for an extended period of time is difficult and burns out for some creators…perhaps AI will provide a new way to create without exposing yourself,” she said.
The Clueless has no qualms about its AI models taking business away from real influencers.
“We do not expect real models to become obsolete or replaced by AI-generated models such as Aitana,” Novales said. “In our view, they can coexist as another type of competition in the industry.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
