How AI Influencers Are Changing Society—for the Worse

Explore the social impact of AI influencers on mental health, relationships, and industries, and why society must balance digital and human connections.

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Thibault Paulet

November 2, 2024

8 min read

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How AI Generated Influencers Are Destroying Society

TL;DR

AI-generated influencers reshape reality, set impossible beauty standards, disrupt industries, and challenge relationships. They blur the lines between fantasy and reality, posing risks to mental health and human connections.

Takeaways

  • 🎯 AI-generated influencers mimic humans, gaining followers, landing ad deals, and offering brands control and reduced costs.
  • 🧠 Mental Health Risks: These influencers worsen mental health by promoting unattainable beauty standards, especially for teens.
  • 💔 Impact on Relationships: Digital influencers create unrealistic expectations, detaching people from real human connections.
  • 📉 Threat to Industries: AI influencers replace models, musicians, and actors, threatening creative professions.
  • 🌐 Digital Perfection Obsession: Growing fascination with digital ideals could lead to societal disconnection.
  • 🚀 Rise of AI Avatars: AI avatars may dominate, replacing authentic expressions with curated digital versions.
  • ⚠ Preservation of Authenticity: To keep human creativity alive, we must engage with real people and reject fake personas.

Are AI-Generated Influencers Setting Us Up for Failure?

In a world where social media creates unrealistic expectations, AI-generated influencers raise new concerns. From AI-powered Instagram models to AI-generated celebrities, the rapid rise of artificial influencers is impacting mental health, relationships, and even industries.

But how real is this problem, and what does it mean for society?

Instagram profile of Milla Sofia, a 24-year-old AI virtual girl with 201K followers, based in Helsinki.

AI-generated influencers—like Mila Sophia and Lil Miquela—look, act, and behave like real people online. These digital personalities boast millions of followers, land ad campaigns with major brands, and rake in six-figure deals. Despite not being real, fans engage with them as if they were.

Why? Simple: They provide curated perfection. AI models don’t age, get tired, or make mistakes. Brands love them for total control and lower costs, while followers enjoy the illusion of interacting with “perfect” personalities.

Mental Health Crisis: When AI Becomes the Ideal

AI models have no limits—they can change appearance instantly, respond to thousands of fans, and represent an unattainable ideal of beauty. This poses a huge mental health risk, especially for teenagers who already struggle with self-image.

Studies show that social media's focus on beauty triggers depression and self-esteem issues, particularly among young girls. With AI influencers setting even more impossible standards, we’ll likely see these issues spiral.

Imagine growing up admiring influencers who are generated to be "perfect." The effect is devastatingly anti-human.

AI Models and the End of Authentic Relationships

A person sits alone, surrounded by glowing screens of AI-generated influencers on a dating app.

It’s not just a mental health concern—AI-generated influencers are also changing how people interact. Thousands of men engage with digital models, even knowing they aren’t real, sometimes even sending money and gifts in hopes of forming a connection.

This disconnect from reality creates unrealistic expectations. Constant exposure to idealized, AI-enhanced beauty makes real connections feel inadequate. Imagine using Tinder and finding real people don’t compare to the digital perfection seen online. The result? Increased loneliness and disillusionment.

A Threat to Industries: From Influencers to Celebrities

A digital illustration of Lilly as a Desi A.I. librarian holding a book.

The rise of AI influencers could disrupt entire industries. Soon, AI versions of themselves may replace fashion models, musicians, and even actors. Why would companies hire real models if they can create perfect digital counterparts at a fraction of the cost?

AI voice cloning in the music industry is already happening, and AI-powered actors may soon take over Hollywood. AI influencers blur fiction and reality, creating a culture where algorithms dictate trends and identities.

Will We Stop Caring About Reality?

As AI influencers become more realistic, people might start preferring digital worlds. We’re already seeing this as celebrities use filters to perfect images, with fans engaging more with these altered personas than the real people.

This obsession with digital perfection may lead to a society where tangible reality becomes undesirable. If people start using AI avatars on social media, our concept of natural beauty could disappear, replacing authenticity with curated identities.

How Do We Keep AI From Destroying Society?

AI technology isn’t inherently harmful, but how we use it matters. If AI influencers grow unchecked, we risk a world that values perfection over humanity. Staying mindful of our content consumption and engaging with real people is essential to preserving authenticity.

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While AI influencers may seem entertaining, the long-term consequences could be profound. It’s about maintaining connection, mental well-being, and authenticity in an increasingly digital world.

Keywords

  • AI-Generated Influencers
    Digital personalities designed to mimic human behavior online, gaining social media followings and ad deals. Related terms: virtual influencers, digital avatars.

  • Mental Health Impact of AI
    Refers to the adverse effects AI models have on self-esteem and mental well-being by promoting impossible beauty standards.

  • Digital Perfection
    The unattainable ideal created by AI-enhanced models, altering perceptions of beauty. Related: AI-enhanced beauty, Photoshop culture.

  • AI Models in Marketing
    The use of digital avatars in advertising, replacing human models for cost efficiency and control. Related: virtual models, AI influencers.

  • Disruption of Human Relationships
    AI-generated influencers impact connections by fostering unrealistic expectations. Related: emotional disconnection, digital detachment.

  • Threat to Creative Industries
    AI models replacing human talent across industries, including fashion and entertainment. Related: AI actors, synthetic celebrities.

  • Authenticity vs. Digital Fantasy
    The challenge of maintaining real human expression in a world dominated by AI-generated content. Related: digital personas, curated identities.

Q&A Section

  • Q: What are AI-generated influencers?
    A: AI-generated influencers are digital personalities that behave like humans online, gaining followers, brand deals, and shaping trends with their perfected appearance.

  • Q: How do AI influencers impact mental health?
    A: They promote unrealistic beauty standards, worsening mental health, especially among teens who compare themselves to digitally perfected influencers.

  • Q: How are AI-generated influencers changing relationships?
    A: They foster unrealistic expectations, leading people to prefer idealized digital models over real human interactions.

  • Q: What industries are most affected by AI-generated influencers?
    A: Industries like fashion, entertainment, and music are seeing AI models replace human celebrities, actors, and influencers.

  • Q: Will AI influencers change how we engage with social media?
    A: Yes, as people gravitate towards AI-enhanced versions, reality may become less appealing, eroding human connection and creativity.

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