As the world continues to evolve rapidly and AI technology advances over the coming years, it's becoming more and more difficult to discern who — or what — is behind the scenes of our favorite social media influencers.
In 2023, spotting an AI-generated influencer may be hard to come by as technology becomes increasingly sophisticated and potentially even indistinguishable from a real person!
Here are eight tips you can use for identifying an AI-based influencer so that you know exactly if it's a real person or not.
Let's begin!
1. ‘Created By AI' warning labels on Instagram
Let's begin with the main one that will hopefully soon help spot AI-generated images; the AI label from Instagram.
Unfortunately, this feature hasn't been released yet, but we will update this article once it's here!
2. Check the bio of the influencer
This is a small tip, but still effective!
Some AI-generated influencers are upfront that they are created by AI:
As you can see, they clearly mention that it's an AI creation.
But yes, even with that in the bio, there are still people who think she's real:
3. Don't forget to check the post itself
Another great tip is to check the hashtags on the posts from the influencer:
If this was a ‘real' influencer, she would have most likely not added these AI-related hashtags.
Another extra tip for this one is to check the comments under the post; influencers usually interact with their followers.
However, AI-generated influencers may not interact with their followers in a natural way.
There might not be any replies from the influencer on comments at all — or the comments look a bit weird.
4. Use an AI image detector
Next up is using an AI image detector like AI or Not.
Here's an example if you upload one of Milla Sofia's images:
5. Search the name on Google
Here's one more great tip to see if an influencer is AI-generated; search the name on Google.
For example, if you type this in Google:
“Natalia Novak”
You will find this great article from Futurism:
You can read in that interview that the creator of Natalia is a 20-something software systems engineer named Pierre.
It's also, just for the record, it's not entirely men crafting impossibly beautiful women, though that does appear to be the main thrust of the scene.
Pierre
6. The influencer's images and videos may look too perfect or unrealistic
At first, AI-generated images were easy to spot because they were too bad (in comparison to real pictures).
However, technology has improved a lot in the past years, and it's now the case that you can spot AI-generated images if it's too good to be true.
For example, here's what one person had to say about Milla Sofia:
The dramatic lighting, the messed up hands, the weird smooth skin, and the backgrounds make it pretty obvious.
With that in mind, take a look at the image below and ask yourself if this could be a real person:
7. Look at the hands
At this moment, AI is struggling with creating hands.
Of course, this can change in the near future, but for now, we can use this in our adventure in order to spot AI-generated influencers!
Here are three great examples:
Yes, some are not going to notice this; they are too busy focusing on other things — but for those who are interested in learning how to spot an AI-generated influencer, this is great!
8. Look at the backgrounds
And last but not least, don't forget to look at the backgrounds. They may become repetitive.
Here's an example of three posts ‘on the exact same spot' — all with a different outfit:
How many people do you know that would do this?
FAQs about AI influencers on Instagram
Before we close off this article, let’s quickly go over a few key questions that people have when they start researching AI-generated influencers.
Who knows, maybe this will answer one of the questions you had as well!
What is the future of AI influencers?
The future of AI influencers is still uncertain. However, there are a few trends that suggest that AI influencers will become more popular in the years to come.
For example, as AI technology continues to improve, AI influencers will become more realistic and lifelike.
And the growing popularity of VR and AR will make it possible for AI influencers to interact with users in more immersive and engaging ways.
Can AI-generated influencers become a problem?
Yes, there's a serious downside to the AI-generated influencers trend; it could damage kids' mental health.
The growth of these perfect AI influencers could negatively impact the mental health of younger users. Exposure to such idealized representations of life and beauty may lead to distorted self-perceptions.
Conclusion
Those were all the tips!
If that wasn't enough for you, and want to dive deeper into the world of AI-generated influencers, then don't forget to check out our article with 10 AI influencer examples.
If you've found any other tips to spot AI-generated influencers ‘in the wild', then don't forget to let us know in the comments!
Take care with everything!
Want to learn more about AI?
Ready to move your AI skills to the next level? Check out the articles below:
