In an innovative twist to digital identity, London based model, Alexsandrah Gondora, has created a virtual, AI generated version of herself!
Gondora (the model whose image you can view by clicking here) is following in the footsteps of #Shudu, one of the world's first digital supermodels. Shudu has nearly 250k followers, is a virtual influencer and has been involved in marketing campaigns for luxury brands #Balenciaga, #Lexus and #Balmain. Interestingly, Alexsandrah has also been a real life model for Shudu but will now also be paid royalties where her own AI doppelganger appears in any marketing campaigns or photoshoots.
There was a backlash against fashion brand #Levi's last year, when it announced that it would be using AI to generate models of more diverse body types and skin tones to increase representation of models. Concerns were raised about fair pay for models and whether virtual models would take away work from real ones. It wasn’t just models with concerns, makeup artists and hairstylists also expressed concerns about the impact of AI on their industry. Levi’s partnered with Lalaland.ai for that initiative and following the criticism of it’s announcement, it backtracked and saying it was "committed to using AI technologies equitably and transparently".
“AI versions of celebrities”
However, demand for virtual models and influencers is only growing.
Whilst, Meta has its own AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT, it also introduced 28 new ones with different personalities that use images of celebrities. For example, Tom Brady’s likeness is used for “Bru”, a chatbot used for debating sports. And Kendall Jenner's plays “Billie” a chatbot represented as a big sister to give users advice! Other celebrities that these AI chatbots are modelled on include Bear Grylls and Snoop Dogg. Deals reportedly ranged between $1m and $5m for using the images of celebrities to create these characters.
So, does Alexsandrah Gondora's venture into digital twinning represent a savvy move to capitalise on Metaverse trends, or does it echo broader concerns about AI's impact on employment in creative industries? The debate is far from over.
Original reporting by @SamGruet at the BBC.
