Lucy Hawkins
speaker
34 appearances
1 recordings
1 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard Dec 2024
Lucy Hawkins’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
We live in a world of influencers. Whether it's our skincare routine, the clothes we wear, or the places we visit on holiday, social media celebrities are shaping our everyday choices. But as technology advances, the lucrative influencer industry is being reshaped by models created using artificial intelligence.
And with some AI influences accumulating massive followings, critics are raising questions, from the unrealistic beauty standards they could set to the accountability of anonymous creators. So as AI models seem certain to play an increasingly prominent role online, are developers conscious of the ethical questions, and are users equipped to decipher what's real from what's artificial intelligence?
With me today is the BBC's cyber correspondent, Joe Tidey. Hi, Joe.
Joe, I think if we were all asked, we would confess that we've tried products, restaurants, clothes, listened to music, all sorts of things, because we've seen it on social media. We are all at the moment being shaped, it seems, by influencers at some stage.
Can we pinpoint, though, the moment when the concept of social media influences first emerged?
We're looking for a new oven at the moment. And I literally fell down a rabbit hole of influencers around what kind of oven we should get. It was extraordinary the amount of content that was available just on that one thing.
Absolutely. That is exactly what's happening, Joe. But how do influencers earn most of their money now? And how much money are they making?
Today, though, we're talking about AI influencers. I think that what an AI influencer is, is probably just in the name. But can you explain to us what we are talking about? What are they?
Sometimes you wonder with Kim Kardashian. True.
You've been to meet the team in Barcelona behind one of the biggest AI influences at the moment, Aitana. I've recently been introduced to her as well, knowing that we were going to talk about her and have very quickly become quite obsessed with Aitana, actually, showing her to everyone, following her online. But how was she created? Tell us a bit about Aitana.
Genuinely, I did not know when she was first shown to me that she was AI generated.
And also when I was first shown her, she was on my phone. And so she's even smaller. So she looks, you know, it's harder to see some of the imperfections.
Well, let's be more specific. In the past few days, it's been Naitana's birthday.
So they posted her at the table. There were balloons. She'd set the table for people who were coming around for her birthday dinner.
But they're really particular about what she wears, for instance. They make very definite decisions because they've created her with a certain sense of style. So therefore they won't dress her in a certain way.
I mean, they went up to Park World and it was very famous in Barcelona.
There are other advantages, I suppose, to Aitana. She never gets tired.
Never moans. They can work her 24-7. I mean, what else do they say about the benefits of having Aitana rather than a real person?
So we've looked at influencer culture and how recent AI developments have transformed this industry. Next, I want to look at the ethical considerations surrounding AI models like Aitana and the future of these digital celebrities as the pressure for perfection intensifies online.
You're listening to The Global Story from the BBC World Service. There's a fresh episode available as a podcast each weekday. Just search for The Global Story wherever you get your podcasts. With me is Jo Tidy. Jo, Aitana, when you look at her, many people would say she's perfect. Is there a sense that AIO influencers like Aitana are setting really unrealistic beauty standards?
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