Artificial Intelligence: will they surpass us?
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(CNN) --
He has more than 130,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts photos of his adventures around the world.
Her make-up is always impeccable, her clothes seem to be taken from a runway.
She sings and dances and models, and none of it is real.
Rozy is a South Korean "virtual influencer," a digitally rendered human being so realistic she's often mistaken for someone of flesh and blood.
"Are you a real person?" asks one of his followers on Instagram.
"Are you an AI? Or a robot?"
According to the Seoul-based company that created her, Rozy is a mix of all three that oscillates between the real and virtual worlds.
It is "able to do everything that humans can't...in the most human-like way," says Sidus Studio X on its website.
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That includes making a profit for the company in the multibillion-dollar worlds of advertising and entertainment.
Since her launch in 2020, Rozy has landed brand and sponsorship deals, performed in virtual fashion shows, and even released two singles.
And it is not the only one.
The "virtual human" industry is booming, and with it a whole new economy in which the influencers of the future do not age, do not have scandals and are digitally impeccable, which has sounded the alarm among some in a country already obsessed with unattainable beauty standards.
How virtual influencers work
The CGI (computer generated imagery) technology behind Rozy is not new.
It is ubiquitous in today's entertainment industry, where artists use it to create realistic non-human characters in movies, computer games, and music videos.
But only recently has it been used to create influencers.
Sometimes Sidus Studio X creates an image of Rozy from head to toe using technology, an approach that works well for her Instagram images.
She sometimes superimposes her head on the body of a human model, for example, when she models clothes.
An image of Lucy, the Korean virtual human used by Lotte Home Shopping.
(Courtesy of Lotte Home Shopping)
South Korean retail brand Lotte Home Shopping created its virtual influencer - Lucy, who has 78,000 followers on Instagram - with software often used for video games.
Like their real-life counterparts, virtual influencers gain a following through social media, where they post snapshots of their "lives" and interact with their fans.
Rozy's account shows her "traveling" to Singapore and enjoying a glass of wine on a rooftop while her fans praise her clothes.
Older generations might find it strange to interact with an artificial person.
But experts say virtual influencers have struck a chord with younger Koreans, digital natives who spend much of their lives online.
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A post shared by 로지_버추얼 인플루언서 (@rozy.gram)
Lee Na-kyoung, a 23-year-old living in Incheon, started following Rozy about two years ago thinking she was a real person.
Rozy followed her around, sometimes commenting on her posts, and a virtual friendship developed that has endured even after Lee found out the truth.
"We communicated as friends and I felt comfortable with her, so I don't consider her an AI, but a real friend," says Lee.
"I love Rozy's content," Lee added.
"She's so pretty I can't believe she's an AI."
a profitable business
Social media not only allows virtual influencers to build a fan base, it's where the money comes in.
Rozy's Instagram, for example, is peppered with sponsored content advertising skincare and fashion products.
"Many big companies in Korea want to use Rozy as a model," said Baik Seung-yup, CEO of Sidus Studio X. "This year, we hope to easily reach more than two billion Korean won (about $1.52 million). of earnings, only with Rozy".
He added that as Rozy became more popular, the company garnered more endorsements from luxury brands like Chanel and Hermes, as well as magazines and other media companies.
Ads of her have now appeared on television, and even in offline spaces like billboards and the sides of buses.
Lotte hopes to make similar gains this year with Lucy, which has received advertising offers from financial and construction companies, according to Lee Bo-hyun, director of Lotte Home Shopping's media division.
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A post shared by Lucy (@here.me.lucy)
Models are in high demand because they help brands reach younger consumers, experts say.
Rozy's clients include a life insurance company and a bank, companies that are often considered old-fashioned.
"But they say that his image has become very young after working with Rozy," says Baik.
It also helps that, compared to some of their real-life counterparts, these new stars are undemanding.
Lotte and Sidus Studio X take a few hours to a couple of days to create an image of their stars, and two days to a few weeks for a video ad.
It's a lot less time and work than it takes to produce an ad with real people, where you can spend weeks or months scouting locations and preparing logistics such as lighting, hair and makeup, styling, catering and post-production editing.
And perhaps just as important: virtual influencers never get old, tired or controversial.
Lotte turned to a virtual influencer as she considered how to make the most of her "show hosts," Lee said.
Lotte Home Shopping hires human anchors to advertise products on television, but "they cost a lot" and "there will be changes when they get older," Lee said.
So they came up with Lucy, who is "always 29 years old".
"Lucy is not limited by time or space," he added.
"She can show up anywhere. And there are no moral issues."
a matter of beauty
South Korea isn't the only place that has embraced virtual influencers.
Among the most famous virtual influencers in the world are Lil Miquela, created by the co-founders of an American technology startup, who has supported brands such as Calvin Klein and Prada and has more than 3 million followers on Instagram;
Lu de Magalu, created by a Brazilian retail company, with almost 6 million followers on Instagram;
and FNMeka, a rapper created by the music company Factory New, with more than 10 million followers on TikTok.
But there is an important difference, according to Lee Eun-hee, a professor in the Department of Consumer Sciences at Inha University: virtual influencers from other countries often reflect a diversity of ethnic backgrounds and beauty ideals.
Virtual human beings from other places have a "uniqueness", while "those in Korea always make themselves beautiful and pretty... (reflecting) the values of each country," he added.
An image of Rozy, the virtual influencer developed by Sidus Studio X in South Korea.
(Credit: Sidus Studio X)
And in South Korea - often dubbed the "plastic surgery capital of the world" for its booming $10.7 billion industry - there are concerns that virtual influencers could further fuel unrealistic beauty standards.
Younger Koreans have begun to oppose these ideals in recent years, sparking a movement in 2018 dubbed "escaping the corset."
But ideas of what is popularly considered beautiful in the country remain narrow;
For women, this usually means a petite figure with large eyes, a small face, and pale, fair skin.
And these traits are shared by most of the country's virtual influencers;
Lucy has perfect skin, long shiny hair, a thin jaw and a sharp nose.
Rozy has full lips, long legs, and a flat stomach that peeks out from under her crop tops.
Lee Eun-hee warned that virtual influencers like Rozy and Lucy could make Korea's already high beauty standards even more unattainable, and increase demand for plastic surgery or cosmetic products among women seeking to emulate them.
"Real women want to look like them, and men want to date people who look like them," she said.
An image of Lucy, the Korean virtual human used by Lotte Home Shopping.
(Courtesy: Lotte Home Shopping)
The creators of Rozy and Lucy reject these criticisms.
Lee Bo-hyun, Lotte's manager, said that they had tried to make Lucy more than just a "pretty picture" by creating an elaborate backstory and personality.
She studied Industrial Design and works on car design.
She posts about her work and her interests, such as her love of animals and kimbap (rice rolls wrapped in seaweed).
In this way, "Lucy strives to have a good influence in society," Lee said, adding, "She is giving a message to the public of 'do what you want according to your beliefs.'"
Baik, CEO of Sidus Studio X, said that Rozy is not what "anyone would call beautiful" and that the company had deliberately tried to make her look unique and away from traditional Korean norms.
He pointed to the freckles on her cheeks and her bulging eyes.
"Rozy shows people the importance of inner confidence," he added.
"There are other virtual humans who are just as pretty...but I made Rozy to show that he can still be beautiful (even without a conventionally attractive face)."
"Digital 'Blackface'"
But the concern goes beyond Korean beauty standards.
In other parts of the world there is a debate about the ethics of marketing products to consumers who do not realize that models are not human, as well as the risk of cultural appropriation by creating influencers of different ethnicities, labeled by some as "Digital 'Blackface'".
'Blackface', 'Brownface': what are they and why are these practices offensive?
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, which has more than 200 virtual influencers on its platforms, has acknowledged the risks.
"Like any disruptive technology, synthetic media has the potential to do both good and harm. Issues of representation, cultural appropriation, and freedom of expression are already a growing concern," the company states in a blog post.
"To help brands navigate the ethical dilemmas of this emerging medium and avoid potential pitfalls, (Meta) is working with partners to develop an ethical framework to guide the use of (virtual influencers)."
But one thing seems clear: the sector is here to stay.
As interest in the digital world grows—from the metaverse and virtual reality technologies to digital currencies—companies say virtual influencers are the next frontier.
An image of Rozy, the virtual influencer developed by Sidus Studio X in South Korea.
(Credit: Sidus Studio X)
Lotte hopes that Lucy will go from advertising to entertainment, perhaps appearing in a television drama.
The company is also working on a virtual human that will appeal to shoppers in their 40s and 60s.
Sidus Studio X also has big ambitions: Rozy will launch her own cosmetics brand in August, as well as an NFT (non-fungible token), and the company hopes to create a virtual pop trio that will launch onto the music charts.
Baik points out that most fans don't meet real celebrities in person, they only see them on screen.
So "there's not a big difference between virtual humans and the real-life celebrities they like," he said.
"We want to change the perception of how people think about virtual humans," Baik added.
"What we do is not take people's jobs, but do things that humans can't do, like work 24 hours or do unique content like walk in the sky."
Cho Eun-young contributed to this report.
influencerInfluencersArtificial Intelligence