Scrolling through Instagram Reels has become my new favourite pastime. Mainly because it is a treasure cove of catchy pop songs and is an excellent place to slide down new rabbit holes. One that I catapulted myself into recently is that of AI popstars, partially because it was intriguing. However, it did not take long for my emotions to metamorph into one of shock and disbelief. This was due to the fact that the first AI popstar that I encountered, Lil Miquela, left me speechless.
AI popstars
Currently with a following of 2.7 million on Instagram, Miquela resembles your typical pop star in many ways. This 19-year-old Brazilian-American sensation can be seen on Instagram getting in and out of black 4x4s, sporting goth-style oversized t-shirts and orange camo outfits, and working on music in the studio. She embodies all the traits of an “it girl” of the internet generation, with a boyfriend adorned in tattoos and a constant presence in the backstage VIP sections of rap concerts. She has freckles across her nose, full pouting lips, and shaved slits in her eyebrows. Her music falls in line with the catchy and soothing R&B tunes of artists like Bryson Tiller or Jhene Aiko. However, a closer examination reveals something amiss: Lil Miquela’s eyes lack the red veins typically seen in real people, her skin is devoid of any blackheads, and even when she sings about heartbreak, her voice lacks the raw feeling of emotion, failing to convey the pain she claims to experience. The reason behind this discrepancy is that Lil Miquela is not a real person but an AI creation brought to life by the Silicon Valley-funded startup Brud.
Ironically, Miquela is now old news. The latest sensation is Noonoouri who was brought to life in 2018 as an 18-year-old metaverse avatar by a German designer named Joerg Zuber. She continued to grow in popularity until it came to a point where she starred in fashion campaigns for Dior, Balenciaga and Valentino. The latest update on Noonouri is that Warner Music has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by signing a record contract with her, marking a potentially transformative development in the music industry. By doing this Noonouri becomes as equally powerful as artists such as Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Cardi B and Ashnikko. Noonouri as a digital influencer has a follower base of 400,000 on Instagram and is now preparing to launch her debut single, ‘Dominoes’, which has already garnered over 60,000 views on YouTube.
However, the move has sparked a negative reaction on the internet due to concerns about the “sexualisation of a child-like body” in the avatar’s unsettling debut music video. Her singing, which was partly shaped using AI, has led to her being referred to as an “AI popstar.” Even though Warner Music maintains that AI played a minor role in developing Noonoouri’s singing abilities, her signing has occurred at a time when concerns are growing regarding the impact of AI on music creation. There’s worry that AI might potentially replace or imitate artists by mimicking their sound, style, or appearance. This is just one aspect of a much broader problem, one that humans can and will perhaps never comprehend.
Blurring the boundary between real and virtual
The first question that pops up into any sane person’s mind is, ‘What is going on?’. A question that might as well remain rhetoric because it is unanswerable. With the way that things are going, it is only natural to think that we are also simulations that are placed on Earth for experimental purposes.
Thanks to today’s fast-paced technological advancements, deceased artists are making a comeback as holograms and fans are building pop stars from scratch. Another recent example of this can be seen through the rise of ‘Eternity’; one of South Korea’s latest pop bands. All 11 bandmates in the group are virtual and give tough competition to the real ones. The company behind the group, Pulse9, is convinced that computer-generated stars hold a substantial advantage over real-life performers.
To bring ‘Eternity’ to life, the Pulse9 team initiated the creative process by designing the appearance of its members. They developed 101 distinct digital faces, drawing inspiration from existing Korean celebrities. These digital faces were then categorised into four groups – “sexy,” “cute,” “intelligent,” and “innocent.” Through an online poll, they narrowed down the selection to 11 faces.
Subsequently, utilising deepfake and motion capture technologies, Pulse9 created the band’s premiere music video, featuring the ironically titled song “I’m Real,” which was released in 2021. The response to the video was mixed. Some social media users found the facial expressions of the band members unnatural and disconnected from their bodies. Others mentioned the “uncanny valley” effect, wherein viewers are unsettled by human-like entities that aren’t quite human.
However, just five months later, when Pulse9 released Eternity’s subsequent music video for “No Filter,” followers observed that the group had become nearly indistinguishable from real-life performers. One of the most liked comments on YouTube read, “I’m surprised how realistic they sound, and the visuals look more realistic than the debut song”.
Whose side are fans on?
This can be labelled as a question that leads to further questions without answers. Despite the fact that consumers of pop culture may have ambiguous responses towards AI-generated pop artists, they seem to have little to no quandary with regard to fake performances created by AI.
A report by JP Morgan labelled AI singing as not very good and that people do not opt to listen to it. But a fake collaboration between Drake and the Weekend amassing over 9 million views, before it was taken down, destabilised a statement as such. Because of the mixed emotions surrounding audio deep fakes, there are divided opinions about whether AI singing could eat the industry within or actually supplement the industry by providing more content to engage with. Some say it is fun and exciting, while others say that this could bring in unnecessary competition. Musicians are worried that they will be easily replaced by AI whereas fans are delighted that they can fulfil the fantasy of listening to Hozier’s ‘Take Me To Church’ in BTS member Kim Taehyung’s voice.
This could have been ruled out as an innocent attempt at feeding their desires if it wasn’t for the fact that AI’s history is one that is blemished. AI’s impact goes beyond simply catering to fans. Online fan culture, characterised by intense internet-based fandom, has become more discerning and demanding of its idols. For instance, consider the online reactions to artists like Frank Ocean, who faced fan frustration due to his prolonged silence on new music, or Charli XCX, who frequently encounters fan criticisms regarding her new music releases and concert setlists. What is even more unsettling is that the concern over whether artists could be made obsolete by a machine that emulates their voice is just a single side of the equation. There are many more tiers to what AI can do to harm the pop culture industry.
Nevertheless, thus far, artists and their labels are firmly rooted in their belief that AI cannot factor in the social and emotional bond that the fandom and the artist share. They are convinced and confident that replicating or mimicking the essence of what human artists are built on is a feat that AI will not be able to achieve (hopefully). But the pendulum swings both ways and we have got nothing to do but wait and watch.
(Sandunlekha Ekanayake)