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AI avatars flood social media feeds
Virtual personalities like Gigi, an AI-generated influencer, are gaining millions of views-and revenue-by posting surreal, hyper-stylized videos that blur the line between reality and digital fabrication.
The rise of 'AI slop'
Gigi, a 21-year-old digital creation with tanned skin, green eyes, and long black hair, films makeup tutorials, eats lava pizza, and applies cotton candy as lip gloss-all while her hands occasionally phase through objects. She is the brainchild of University of Illinois student Simone Mckenzie, who turned to AI tools like Google Veo 3 to generate content after lacking the resources for traditional influencer setups.
Mckenzie's experiment paid off: one of Gigi's videos earned $1,600 in just four days. Within two months, the AI persona amassed millions of views, netting Mckenzie thousands through TikTok's creator fund.
"One video made me $1,600 in just four days. I was like, okay, let me keep doing this."
Simone Mckenzie, AI creator
Disrupting the influencer economy
The trend, dubbed "AI slop" by critics, is reshaping social media. Creators can now produce videos in minutes-skipping time-consuming steps like filming, editing, and set design-while still attracting lucrative brand deals and ad revenue.
Jessa Lingel, a digital culture expert at the University of Pennsylvania, warns the surge could upend the $250 billion influencer industry. "It's surging right now and it's probably going to continue," she said.
Traditional influencers, like 26-year-old Kaaviya Sambasivam, face stiff competition. Sambasivam, who has 1.3 million followers, spends hours or days producing content-shopping, filming, and editing-while AI creators post multiple videos daily with minimal effort.
"There are months where I'll be down in the dumps, and I'll post just the bare minimum. I can't compete with robots."
Kaaviya Sambasivam, human influencer
From deepfakes to digital puppies
AI-generated content ranges from absurd (a cartoon cat working at McDonald's) to hyper-realistic (fake doorbell camera footage). Brooke Duffy, a digital media scholar at Cornell University, traces the roots of today's AI videos to early deepfakes and tools like Photoshop and FaceTune.
One standout example is Gamja, an AI-generated puppy in South Korea who cooks, wears headphones, and styles his hair. His creator, a 31-year-old American woman, blends food and pet content to attract millions of views-and corporate partnerships.
Daniel Riley, a top AI creator on TikTok, produces "time travel" videos like "POV: you wake up in Pompeii on eruption day," amassing nearly 600,000 subscribers without ever showing his face. He now monetizes his success by teaching others to create AI content for a monthly fee.
Ethical concerns and blurred realities
While AI democratizes content creation, experts warn of risks. Lingel highlights the challenge of misinformation, scams, and low-quality content, particularly for young audiences lacking media literacy.
"I think it'll be almost impossible for an ordinary human to tell the difference soon."
Jessa Lingel, University of Pennsylvania
Gamja's creator notes that viewers often mistake the AI puppy for a real animal, voicing concerns about his diet. Meanwhile, Gigi's videos begin with her mocking skeptics who doubt her humanity-before gleefully eating bedazzled avocados or slime cookies.
A Harvard study found many Gen Z users employ AI to generate images and music, raising questions about whether human discernment can keep pace with advancing technology.
The future of digital fame
For creators like Mckenzie, AI offers a low-barrier entry into the influencer economy. "My desk at home has a lot of books and stuff. It's not the most visually appealing," she said. "It definitely makes it easier that you can just pick whatever background you want with AI."
As AI-generated content proliferates, the line between reality and fabrication grows thinner-leaving audiences to navigate a landscape where even a talking puppy might not be what it seems.
