Source: AFP
Social media influencers have embraced AI to enrich their content, but they also face increasing competition from AI-powered Instagramers, TikTokers and YouTubers.
Sporting pink hair and posing in underwear, swimwear or gym clothes, Aitana Lopez has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram where she’s described as a “gamer at heart” and a “fitness junkie” — except she’s not real.
Aitana was created by The Clueless, a Barcelona-based company that bills itself as an “AI modeling agency” run by “visionaries on a mission to redefine the world of influencers.”
Sofia Novales, project manager at The Clueless, said the “increasing costs associated with influencing people” was the reason behind the company’s creation.
“Virtual models, being digital, present a more cost-effective alternative,” Novales said.
Another advantage: absolute control over the content.
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“The benefits lie in unparalleled creative control, allowing for seamless image, fashion and aesthetic decisions without the need for physical photos,” Novales said.
The rise of artificial intelligence has fueled concerns about the proliferation of deepfake videos that could be used maliciously.
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, said on Friday that it will begin placing “Made with AI” tags on AI-generated content in May.
Artificial intelligence presents a huge business opportunity for content creators: The influencer market is expected to grow rapidly, from $16.5 billion in 2022 to nearly $200 billion by 2032, according to Allied Market Research.
Younger audience
The use of virtual influencers is nothing new: Barbie already has millions of followers on Instagram.
But now they are used in advertisements where they cannot be distinguished from a real person.
Take Lil Miquela, a “19-year-old robot living in LA” created by a California agency in 2016.
With 2.6 million followers on Instagram and 3.5 million on TikTok, Lil Maqueta has promoted brands as big as BMW.
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The idea was to “create something that has never been seen before,” the German automaker said in a statement to AFP.
“Attracting a tech-savvy younger generation is the icing on the cake for us,” he said.
Maud Lejeune, who heads the Paris-based digital strategy agency AD Crew, said it is not difficult for the public to accept the effects of artificial intelligence.
“It’s like actors on TV: we know it’s not real, we still watch them and find it interesting, it’s like watching a mini-series.”
AD Crew represents more than 30 influencers, but Lejeune created her own virtual influencer, Metagaya, two years ago.
“Today’s level of design didn’t exist back then. It’s technical, you have to dress them up, take pictures for the background, create a story,” Lejeune said, acknowledging that Metagaya didn’t do too well.
Rapid technological advances brought about by OpenAI’s Sora video generator could make it easier to create and operate realistic virtual effects.
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Deepfakes
Human influencers are also taking advantage of AI technology to make better videos.
Frenchman Charles Sterlings sees an opportunity to improve translations.
It uses different tools on platforms like HeyGen and Rask.ai to automatically translate and sync video posts in English and Spanish.
Sterlings also uses Deepshot, a platform that allows users to create deepfakes by changing people’s words and mouth movement into real videos.
He said it took him just a few minutes and a few dollars to manipulate a video of French President Emmanuel Macron.
But Sterlings sees technology as a competitor as well as a useful tool.
“Anyone with a phone can be an influencer. But ultimately, it will be artificial intelligence, available 24 hours a day and much cheaper to develop,” he said.
For Maud Lejeune, artificial intelligence can help influencers produce more content.
“It’s hard to put yourself in front of the camera for a long time and some creators burn out… Maybe AI will offer a new way to create without exposing yourself,” he said.
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The Clueless has no qualms about its AI models taking business away from real influencers.
“We don’t foresee real models becoming obsolete or being replaced by AI-generated models like Aitana,” Novales said. “In our view, they can co-exist as yet another industry competition.”
Source: AFP