The Global Story: The AI models invading our feeds
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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.
Hi.
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.
Oh, yeah, I think so. I think if you say that your influence are immune, then you're probably lying, aren't you? Because there are certain people and characters and celebrities that we look up to or are interested in, and they have got absolutely enormous followings. So even if you weren't directly impacted, what you might find is that someone in your life has been impacted by them.
Can we pinpoint, though, the moment when the concept of social media influences first emerged?
You have to go back to the days of blogging. So early 2000s, early days of the internet, really, people start off, I don't know, a dishwasher review website and they become very passionate about it. They do regular content updates. People find the blogs, read them, become trusted, these individuals who are doing the content. And then eventually, of course, you'd get advertisers and product owners saying, oh, hang on a minute, that person's got an audience and they're a loyal, trusted audience. Why don't we get them to sponsor our product or get them to review our product. And then before you know it, you start getting a bit of money changing hands. And then, of course, things really kicked off sort of 2004, 5, 6 with the rise of Facebook, when suddenly your blog becomes even bigger. And then we move into YouTube, and YouTube sort of took blogging to vlogging, and then people became very, very popular on YouTube, so brands came to them.
And the difference as well, and I think this is a really important inflection point in the whole of social media influencing, is that's when YouTube started paying back.
Hey creators, today we're announcing exciting updates coming to YouTube. First, we're providing new monetization opportunities and expanded access to more creators with the YouTube Partner Programme.
So if you were on there doing very, very well, you were getting paid by brands to influence what people bought. But also you were getting paid by YouTube for the views you got, which drives engagement, drives you doing more content, all the rest of it. And then, of course, we're now in this era of all sorts of influencing, whether it be through sponsorships on brands or live appearances and fundraising. filling out, you know, halls and things for content creation in front of your audience, even lives at home that you can do on TikTok where people can gift you money as well. It's not just about selling products in advertising anymore.
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