Rise of AI influencers raising ethical concerns | BBC N… — Transcript

AI influencers like Aitana gain huge followings and sponsorships, raising ethical concerns about unrealistic beauty standards and transparency.

Key Takeaways

AI influencers can generate significant revenue and large followings similar to human influencers.
There are ethical concerns about AI influencers promoting unrealistic and potentially harmful beauty ideals.
Transparency is an issue as many followers may not realize these influencers are not real people.
The market currently favors standardized, idealized AI models over more diverse representations.
AI technology is increasingly integrated into marketing, including new roles like AI voice assistant avatars.

Summary

AI influencers are becoming a lucrative industry with some models gaining hundreds of thousands of followers.
Aitana, an AI model with pink hair, is one of the most popular and earns thousands monthly through sponsored posts.
Creating AI influencer content involves replacing real images with AI-generated visuals, enhanced by lighting and shadow adjustments.
The AI influencer industry targets mostly male fans but raises concerns about the impact on young followers, especially teenage girls.
Critics argue AI influencers promote unrealistic beauty standards that appear close to real, potentially misleading followers.
Attempts to create more diverse AI models were initially rejected by clients preferring standardized looks.
The agency is now developing more diverse AI models, including male ones, though marketers show less interest in male AI influencers.
A new project involves designing an AI model to represent an in-car AI voice assistant for a major car company.
The rise of AI influencers highlights ethical issues around body image, authenticity, and marketing strategies.
The BBC report is presented by cyber correspondent Joe Tidy, focusing on the evolving role of AI in influencer marketing.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Artificial intelligence influencers are a growing industry with some AI models gaining hundreds of thousands of followers and getting increasingly lucrative sponsorship deals. Aitana is one of the world's most popular AI models, known for her stylish pink hair.

Speaker A

The BBC's cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy reports.

Speaker B

A photo shoot with no model.

Speaker B

She's not late though, she doesn't exist.

Speaker B

Aitana is an AI model, since she was created around a year ago, she's amassed a big following and is making thousands a month for her Barcelona-based agency.

Speaker C

We intend to always try to make it as similar as what an influencer would do.

Speaker C

We take a picture with me in the image and we have to replace it with AI, so we have to play a little bit with lights and shadows to make it as real as possible.

Speaker C

Maybe that Barcelona as a background is going to be more interesting.

Speaker B

Touch-ups used to take around a day, but now it's a few hours because of how the AI's improved so much.

Speaker B

Here's the final product.

Speaker B

The studio says they can get thousands of pounds a month for sponsored posts and endorsements with Aitana.

Speaker B

Her virtual life is built for her mostly male fans, a key demographic for these AI models.

Speaker B

Some find the message they're sending to boys and girls troubling.

Speaker D

I see huge issues with the rise of AI models and influencers. I think they're setting an unrealistic beauty standard that is close enough to being real.

Speaker D

That a lot of people who follow them don't realize they're not real.

Speaker D

Especially teenagers, young teen girls.

Speaker B

Aitana is marketed as a fitness loving woman who lives a healthy lifestyle.

Speaker B

She's even been sponsored by nutrition and sports brands.

Speaker B

Is there a problem where you're promoting a body image of someone that is, you know, in many ways perfect?

Speaker B

And there are some people, some of your followers that say, I wish I had that body.

Speaker C

In the beginning, we tried to make more curvy models, for example.

Speaker C

Or more not standardized models and clients didn't like that.

Speaker C

But you can see this everywhere in publicity.

Speaker C

Comparing her to the rest of the influencers, she looks the same as the rest.

Speaker B

The agency started creating more models with more diverse looks, including some men too.

Speaker B

Although apparently, marketers aren't as interested in male AI models.

Speaker B

The latest project is for a major car company, the brief is to design an AI model to be the face for an in-car AI voice assistant.

Speaker B

A very 2024 assignment.

Speaker B

Joe Tidy, BBC News.

Topics:AI influencersAitanaartificial intelligenceethical concernsbeauty standardssponsorship dealsvirtual modelsmarketingbody imageBBC News

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Aitana in the context of AI influencers?

Aitana is one of the world's most popular AI models known for her pink hair. She has amassed a large following and earns thousands monthly through sponsored posts.

What ethical concerns are raised by AI influencers?

AI influencers raise concerns about promoting unrealistic beauty standards that are close to real, potentially misleading young followers who may not realize these influencers are not real.

Are there efforts to create more diverse AI influencer models?

Yes, the agency has started creating AI models with more diverse looks, including male models, but clients and marketers have shown less interest in non-standardized and male AI influencers.

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