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AI-generated influencers: A new wave of cultural exploitation

Mar 24, 2025

AI-generated Influencers: A New Wave of Cultural Exploitation

Introduction

  • Definition of Influencer: Individuals with large social media followings influencing beliefs and purchasing decisions.
  • Virtual Influencers: Unlike human influencers, they are CGI and AI characters targeting demographics from a first-person perspective.
  • Industry Emergence: A robust industry has developed around virtual influencers, with agencies and companies managing these digital personas.

Key Characteristics and Growth

  • Popularity: Increasing daily with virtual influencers having millions of followers.
  • Example Personas: Shudu, Miquela Sousa, Imma, and Rozy collectively have over 3 million followers on Instagram.
  • Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are facilitating the creation of virtual personas.

Cultural and Ethical Concerns

  • Racial and Gender Dynamics: Many virtual influencers are created as young women of color, often by creators of different racial identities.
  • Motivations: Commercializing gender and racial identity digitally; raises questions about authenticity and exploitation.

Academic Insights

  • Jul Parke's Research: Explores motivations behind creating racialized virtual influencers as a new form of exploitation.
  • AI and Virtual Influencers: As AI continues to proliferate, the presence of virtual influencers is poised to grow.

Ethical Questions

  • Authenticity Online: The rise of virtual influencers poses ethical questions about identity and authenticity on social media.
  • Legal Absence: Lack of laws regulating non-human influencers increases ethical complexities.

Resources and Further Reading

  • Influencers to Know: Miquela, Shudu, Rozy, Imma, Bermuda.
  • Academic Works:
    • Virtual Influencers - Identity and Digitality in The Age of Multiple Realities by Esperanza Miyake.
    • Instagram Visual Social Media Cultures by Tama Leaver, Tim Highfield, Crystal Abidin.
    • The Influencer Industry: The Quest for Authenticity on Social Media by Emily Hund.
    • Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code by Ruha Benjamin.
    • Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto by Legacy Russell.

Conclusion

  • Future Implications: As virtual influencers become more integrated into social media, understanding the ethical, cultural, and commercial implications is crucial for navigating these digital spaces.

Note: This summary is based on an article written by Ateqah Khaki, Vinita Srivastava, and interviewed insights from Jul Parke.

View note sourcehttps://theconversation.com/ai-generated-influencers-a-new-wave-of-cultural-exploitation-248956?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=bylinecopy_url_button