Article by Viktoria Tangermann in Futurism, July 19, 2023:

Fully AI-Generated Influencers Are Getting Thousands of Reactions Per Thirst Trap

Virtual influencers: fictional personalities dominate social media. Click here:

Three portraits of virtual influencers, generated by AI, smiling in different poses.

The rise of virtual influencers has led to the development of AI-powered image generators that create entire feeds of internet personalities that do not actually exist.

These AI-generated influencers, who often take the form of conventionally dressed women, pose and preen themselves in virtual “thirst traps” for the enjoyment of human fans (a thirst trap is a post on social media designed to attract attention by showcasing the physical attractiveness of the poster in particular).

One example is “Milla Sofia“, a 19-year-old virtual girl from Finland who has tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Despite her lack of real existence, her creator has put together a concise resume for her that includes a degree from the “University of Life” in “self-adaptive learning and data-driven mastery.”