The Kardashians are becoming an endangered species
A new breed of influencers is taking over social media, and they’re not even real. Virtual influencers, or VTubers, are digital avatars created using CGI and AI. And they’re giving new meaning to thirst traps, captivating millions of already zombified humans with fantastical personas, hypnotizing voices, and flawless aesthetics.
These virtual beings are producing relentless content. So, unsurprisingly, they’re giving human influencers, including Miss Universe, a run for their money. In short, virtual influences seem bound to make real influencers go the way of the dodo bird.
The rise of virtual influencers
Virtual influencers are ubiquitous. Personas like the anime-inspired Kizuna AI and the eerily lifelike Lil Miquela captivate audiences with their perfect looks and engaging content. And, alas, no amount of photoshopping or digital manipulation can make humans as captivating.
I cannot overstate the prevailing fact that, unlike their human counterparts, these avatars never age, complain, or have a public meltdown. They’re always on-brand and available 24/7. Chances are good that you, too, have been captivated and don’t even know it because you mistook one for a human being.
Humans have only themselves to blame for engineering our own extinction. That’s what the combination of advanced AI technology, the allure of fantasy, and a growing desire for perfect, unblemished content portends.
Everyone from corporate sponsors to political strategists is taking note and switching marketing strategies accordingly. They realize that virtual influencers can reach massive audiences without the unpredictability of real-life personalities and, more importantly, for only a fraction of the costs.
The social impact of digital avatars
So, where does this leave the Kardashians, Clooneys, and Freemans of our celebrity-obsessed world? They are an endangered species.
This is a dream for brands. After all, they can use algorithms to get millions of users hooked on their avatars. They can exercise complete control over how they look and everything they say and do, and keep them working day and night.
Brands can even create an army of avatars tailored to fit any market. They can look like anyone, sound like anyone, speak any language, and reflect any culture. However, human limitations are such that even Morgan Freeman, the voice of God, can’t compete with them.
Our ‘Brave New World’
Virtual influencers aren’t just a passing fad. They represent the inexorable anthropomorphizing of technology.
God supposedly created humans in His image. But He did not give them the power to make Him extinct. Yet human frailties are such that we’re not only creating AI robots in our image but giving them the power to destroy us.
The genie is out of the bottle. AI bots are already interacting with humans on a personal level, irremediably blurring the lines between reality and virtuality.
Thanks to vestigial sentimentality, the Kardashians might still have their loyal fans. But in the rapidly changing social media landscape, they could soon be overshadowed by their digital counterparts.
But those human influences are like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Their fate portends our doom.
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