Professor Tero Karppi talks to the Toronto Star about AI-generated influencers

ICCIT Professor Tero Karppi was recently featured in the Toronto Star, speaking to the corporate use of AI-generated models on social media platforms such as Instagram.

The product of recent advancements in generative AI, these already popular artificial influencers include Maia Lima, by the Clueless; Shudu, by the Diigitals; and Milla Sofia, by Netmylly Oy. Using AI has proven significantly cheaper and more efficient than using human marketers—while providing a brand the opportunity to meticulously customize social media content to fit their image, values, and goals.

Given the incentives for brands and the upsurge in popularity of AI, "there is a chance that social media becomes less and less a network of humans ... collaborating with each other," Karppi explained.

"The marketing industry is a big driver of social media. I'm sure that they will utilize these AI-generated models, and they'll become part of our everyday landscape."

Read more in the Toronto Star.