“Allergic to nostalgia,” Trevor McFedries is always looking for new. As the founder and CEO of Brud, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) company that creates internet personalities, McFedries’ desire for innovation is seen with his newest creation: The viral and virtual social media influencer “Lil Miquela.”
A self-proclaimed 19-year-old robot, this computer-generated (CG) avatar gained immediate popularity in her 2016 launch. McFerdies co-founded this creation alongside Sara Decou, a member of Forbes’ 30 under 30 for consumer technology in 2019.
The two explained that Lil Miquela’s initial purpose was to question the social norms of online platforms, despite the consequential revenues her sponsorship deals have generated (all of which are donated to social causes, such as the Black Girls Code). Seven years later, the first-of-its-kind Instagram star has nearly 3 million followers. This infatuation for the Los Angeles-based robot can be seen for a number of reasons.
Blawko, another AI influencer, and Lil Miquela alongside McFedries and Decou
The drama and brand deals that make up Lil Miquela’s content resemble that of human mega influencers. “Side hustles,” like record deals and clothing brands, are popular influencer methods to enhance visibility and reflect dimensionality. Lil Miquela’s Brud controllers have recognized this strategy. With a top 10 Spotify single (that came with comment section cries for more) and a position as arts editor for Dazed Beauty, Lil Miquela has successfully demonstrated her entrepreneurial skills to inspired fans.
While Lil Miquela reflects the livelihood and style of a human Instagram star as she dines out dawning Prada, her recognized existence in a mixed reality life enhances her audience appeal. “Robot living in L.A. '' is her blunt Instagram biography and from the start of her account, comments have gradually shifted from confusion to interest in a pixelated storyline.
Appealing to followers beyond Instagram aesthetics and business ventures, Lil Miquela’s account is a reflection of the current and changing AI world. One commenter exclaimed: “It blows my mind how much we advance.” Similar to the fascination with virtual assistants like Siri and their ability to make conversation, the human-like qualities and achievements of Miquela leave us dumbfounded and intrigued.
Miquela with her human boyfriend, Nick Killian
Lil Miquela no longer stands alone amongst the humans. Brud has since created other virtual Instagram influencers. Bermuda Blawko is one in particular, whose staged social media feuds with Miquela over love-related drama add another layer to the entertaining appeal of these artificial creators.
However, this surge in success has not been met without clapback from the social media community. Followers have criticized the perceived legitimacy that the avatar creates. Her employment as Dazed editor was seen as ignoring “actual people.” Furthermore, “Show your robot self” and “What an illusion” are frequent comments made among the heart eyes and fire emojis.
Despite her artificial background, Miquela has successfully joined the ranks of social media content creators. In this new age of media, influencers are considered entertainment. Therefore, Lil Miquela’s Instagram stardom has connected her to the broader trend of AI activity in the entertainment industry.
Miquela during a brand deal with Pacsun
Recent developments in AI writing, as seen with the creation of the Twitch streamNothing Forever,demonstrate that their ability to produce creative content is limited. However, this lack of originality does not prevent Miquela and other AI internet personalities from entertaining their audiences. As seen with viral “day in my life” vlogs or “get ready with me” TikToks - videos that all project the same desired and put-together environment - influencers don’t necessarily require creativity to be entertaining. And if Miquela, the product of an AI company, can become an influencer creating content easily consumed, AI has found a new door into the entertainment industry.
CGI influencers is a topic I find particularly interesting, and I'm very pleased to find that you feel the same way. Yes, Lil Miquela is a worthy poster child among the more than 200 virtual influencers now active on social media. I was also captivated by the way she created the storyline and drama as well, but some of it garnered a lot of criticism for being too obvious clickbait (the AD where she and Bella kiss/she support Black lives matter, etc.) If you have any further thoughts on this substack after the course, it would be great to hear your thoughts on these controversies!
This was a very interesting topic that I did not know much about until reading your blog! Although you mentioned Miquela's original goal it is for sure proven throughout the reading that she has done way more than that. I found it very unexpected that she has had brand deals, especially with Pacsun since it is such a large company. Although I see the appeal since Miquela is so popular, I don't see the full effectiveness of having an AI avatar model clothes, something that is supposed to fit humans. This was a great read and I can't wait to delve more into the effects and popularity of AI-generated characters.
CGI influencers is a topic I find particularly interesting, and I'm very pleased to find that you feel the same way. Yes, Lil Miquela is a worthy poster child among the more than 200 virtual influencers now active on social media. I was also captivated by the way she created the storyline and drama as well, but some of it garnered a lot of criticism for being too obvious clickbait (the AD where she and Bella kiss/she support Black lives matter, etc.) If you have any further thoughts on this substack after the course, it would be great to hear your thoughts on these controversies!
This was a very interesting topic that I did not know much about until reading your blog! Although you mentioned Miquela's original goal it is for sure proven throughout the reading that she has done way more than that. I found it very unexpected that she has had brand deals, especially with Pacsun since it is such a large company. Although I see the appeal since Miquela is so popular, I don't see the full effectiveness of having an AI avatar model clothes, something that is supposed to fit humans. This was a great read and I can't wait to delve more into the effects and popularity of AI-generated characters.