The success of Philanthrope has prompted a wave of similarly wacky characters racking up tens of thousands of overnight followers on Instagram and TikTok, and then receiving breathless promotion by artificial intelligence advocates on X.
“The people who build AI influencers right now are going to look back on this the same way early crypto holders look back on 2017,” claimed one in response to a creation with a matching pale pink suit and Edna Mode bob called Louis McDick. “The audience can't tell the difference, [and] an AI character that posts every day builds something real… brands are spending more than ever to get in front of audiences like that.”
For now, it seems the main product AI influencers sell is themselves, in that those who shill the technology that creates them want customers to use them as a marketing strategy. Considering that paying for views, followers, and even dedicated fans is common practice on socials these days, it is not really surprising that AI proponents see value in doing away with the people who drive these as well. So long as a memorable brand is created, they insist that the money will follow.
‘Social media isn’t real' used to be the sensible response to anybody feeling overwhelmed by the perfect life and unrealistic body standards portrayed by many in the influencer sphere. That started to feel hollow when internet culture became increasingly intertwined with the average person's life. There may have been just as many lies as ever, but there was also a higher likelihood that the audience consuming them wanted to perpetuate them, whether that is through their own online presence or simply through their investment in these online celebrities. They feel authentic by virtue of being such a big part of their day-to-day life.
As a result, those behind the new wave of AI influencers are betting on an audience who either doesn't realize or doesn't care that the eccentric individual they're watching is all computer. 'It's Ai but I still want it to be real 😢😂' commented someone also likely to be a bot on one of these characters' videos. AI slop on social media is not as contentious as it is when used for movies or books; it's not like we're expecting lofty ethical and artistic standards every time we scroll. So long as they are good enough at keeping our attention for more than five seconds, they're an easy sell to anybody hoping for an easy profit from a low-effort business.