![\"AI](\"https:\/\/c.ndtvimg.com\/2024-04\/s0banq3g_aitana-lopez-ai-afp-_625x300_07_April_24.jpeg\"\/ "\\"AI")
<\/div>\nUsing virtual influencers is not new: Barbie already has millions of followers on Instagram.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Paris: <\/b><\/p>\n
Social media influencers have embraced artificial intelligence to spice up their content but they are also facing growing competition from AI-generated Instagramers, TikTokers and YouTubers.<\/p>\n
Sporting pink hair and posing in lingerie, swimsuits or gym outfits, Aitana Lopez has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram where she is described as a “gamer at heart” and “fitness lover” — except she’s not real.<\/p>\n
Aitana was created by The Clueless, a Barcelona-based company that describes itself as an “AI modeling agency” run by “visionaries on a mission to redefine the world of influencers”.<\/p>\n
Sofia Novales, project manager at The Clueless, said the “rising costs associated with human influencers” was a reason behind the company’s creation.<\/p>\n
“Virtual models, being digital, present a more economical alternative,” Novales said.<\/p>\n
Another plus: total control over content.<\/p>\n
“The advantages lie in unparalleled creative control, allowing seamless decision-making on image, fashion, and aesthetics without the need for physical photoshoots,” Novales said.<\/p>\n
The rise of AI has fuelled concerns about the proliferation of deepfake videos that could be used maliciously.<\/p>\n
Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, said Friday it would start putting “Made with AI labels” on AI-generated content in May.<\/p>\n
AI 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.<\/p>\n
Younger audience<\/strong><\/h3>\nUsing virtual influencers is not new: Barbie already has millions of followers on Instagram.<\/p>\n
But they are now being used in advertisements where they can’t be told apart from a real person.<\/p>\n
Take Lil Miquela, a “19-year-old Robot living in LA” created by a California agency in 2016.<\/p>\n
With 2.6 million followers on Instagram and 3.5 million on TikTok, Lil Maqueta has promoted brands as big as BMW.<\/p>\n
The idea was to “create something never seen before,” the German premium carmaker said in a statement to AFP.<\/p>\n
“Attracting a younger, technology-savvy generation is for us the icing on the cake,” it said.<\/p>\n
Maud Lejeune, who heads up the Paris-based digital strategy agency AD Crew, said that it isn’t difficult for the public to accept AI influencers.<\/p>\n
“It’s like actors on TV: we know it isn’t real yet we follow them and we find it interesting, it’s like watching a mini-series.”<\/p>\n
AD Crew represents more than 30 influencers, but Lejeune created her own virtual influencer, Metagaya, two years ago.<\/p>\n
“The current level of design didn’t exist then. It’s technical, you’ve got to dress them, take photos for the background, create a story,” said Lejeune, acknowledging that Metagaya didn’t turn out very well.<\/p>\n
The rapid technological progress brought by the likes of OpenAI’s Sora video generator could make it easier to create and operate realistic virtual influencers.<\/p>\n
Deepfakes<\/strong><\/h3>\nHuman influencers are also seizing on AI technology to make better videos.<\/p>\n
France’s Charles Sterlings sees an opportunity to improve translations.<\/p>\n
He uses different tools on platforms like HeyGen and Rask.ai to automatically translate and lip-sync his video posts into English and Spanish.<\/p>\n
Sterlings also uses Deepshot, a platform that allows users to create deepfakes by changing the words and mouth movement of people in real videos.<\/p>\n
He said it took him just a few minutes and a few dollars to manipulate a video of French President Emmanuel Macron.<\/p>\n
But Sterlings sees the technology as a competitor as well as a useful tool.<\/p>\n
“Anyone with a phone can be an influencer. But eventually, it will be artificial intelligence, available 24 hours a day, and much cheaper to develop,” he said.<\/p>\n
For Maud Lejeune, AI can help influencers produce more content.<\/p>\n
“It’s tough to put yourself in front of the camera for a long time and certain creators burn out… Maybe AI will provide a new way to create without exposing oneself,” she said.<\/p>\n
The Clueless has no qualms about its AI models taking away business from real influencers.<\/p>\n
“We don’t foresee real models becoming obsolete or replaced by AI-generated models like Aitana,” said Novales. “In our view, they can coexist as another competition of the industry.”<\/p>\n
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Human influencers are also seizing on AI technology to make better videos.<\/p>\n
France’s Charles Sterlings sees an opportunity to improve translations.<\/p>\n
He uses different tools on platforms like HeyGen and Rask.ai to automatically translate and lip-sync his video posts into English and Spanish.<\/p>\n
Sterlings also uses Deepshot, a platform that allows users to create deepfakes by changing the words and mouth movement of people in real videos.<\/p>\n
He said it took him just a few minutes and a few dollars to manipulate a video of French President Emmanuel Macron.<\/p>\n
But Sterlings sees the technology as a competitor as well as a useful tool.<\/p>\n
“Anyone with a phone can be an influencer. But eventually, it will be artificial intelligence, available 24 hours a day, and much cheaper to develop,” he said.<\/p>\n
For Maud Lejeune, AI can help influencers produce more content.<\/p>\n
“It’s tough to put yourself in front of the camera for a long time and certain creators burn out… Maybe AI will provide a new way to create without exposing oneself,” she said.<\/p>\n
The Clueless has no qualms about its AI models taking away business from real influencers.<\/p>\n
“We don’t foresee real models becoming obsolete or replaced by AI-generated models like Aitana,” said Novales. “In our view, they can coexist as another competition of the industry.”<\/p>\n
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n