The claim that AI is soon take all our jobs has been around for the longest time, and judging from the current state of the tech, it seems too far-fetched a claim. Though there’s a recent report of a Spanish modelling agency having created two AI models, suggesting that modelling jobs may be at risk.
Euronews reports that an agency called The Clueless, which used to deal with real influencers, has manufactured a model using AI tech. This artificial model was made as “an exuberant 25-year-old pink-haired woman from Barcelona” who is also a fitness entusiast, and given the name Aitana Lopez. And to sell the idea that she’s a real person with a real life, the people at the agency meet every week to manufacture a schedule.
As per the report, “they decide what she will do during the week, which places she will visit and which photos will be uploaded to feed the followers”. But because she’s not real, there’s no actual shoot. Instead, the process involves using a mix of AI, presumably of the generative type, which are then touched up by “design experts who use Photoshop”. So to be clear, there’s still a lot of work that goes into creating an AI model, even if this affects real model jobs.
Further selling the idea that the AI model lives a real life, said photos are uploaded to her Instagram account, which has amassed 121,000 followers and comes complete with thirsty comments that a real model would get. The report also notes that “a well-known Latin American actor texted to ask her out”. There is also a Fanvue account set up, presumably for the spicier photos too hot for Instagram but still fits her persona.
On the flip side, to really drive the point home that Aitana is an AI model and not real, the designers say that “we created her based on what society likes most”. This is derived from “the tastes, hobbies and niches that have been trending in recent years”, which apparently includes the artificial model’s pink hair.
Asked for the backstory behind the artificial model, Rubén Cruz, the founder of the agency, said that the project came about when the company was going through a rough patch. The agency realised that many projects were “put on hold or cancelled due to problems beyond our control”, with the fault often falling on the model or influencer.
Cruz also notes that cost was another contributing factor, with Kim Kardashian being mentioned as an example where she “makes a million euros for an Instagram photo”. With artificial models, he says that “we could make a better living and not be dependent on other people who have egos, who have manias, or who just want to make a lot of money by posing”.
With the artificial models, The Clueless believes that market prices can be brought down, benefiting small companies that “cannot afford big advertising campaigns”. Perhaps more significantly, this can also alleviate issues that arise when a brand can no longer work with the same real-life influencer for whatever reason. As for the money making potential of the artificial models themselves, the agency notes that Aitana brings in an average of EUR3,000 (~RM15,332) every month.
Those figures probably indicated to the agency that Aitana was a success. At the very least, it was successful enough to warrant the creation of another artificial model. This second one is called Maia Lima, a “young Argentine girl who is characterised by her shyness and purity”. If you think the names are spelled weird, it’s probably deliberate, so that they include AI in the name.
(Source: Euronews, The Clueless)
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