Aitana, 25, a pink-haired woman from Barcelona, receives private messages every week from celebrities asking her out. But this model is not real.
Aitana, a model created by artificial intelligence (AI) in Spain, was born in difficult times.
Rubén Cruz, its designer and founder of The Clueless agency, was going through a difficult time because he didn’t have many clients.
“We started analyzing the way we worked and realized that many projects were being put on hold or canceled due to issues beyond our control. Often it was the influencer or model’s fault and not because of any issues design,” Cruz told Euronews.
They therefore decided to create their own influencer who will serve as a model for brands that contact them.
They created Aitana, an exuberant 25-year-old from Barcelona with pink hair and a physical appearance that is close to perfect.
The virtual model can earn up to €10,000 per month, according to its creators, but the average is usually around €3,000.
“We did it so we could make a better living and not depend on other people who have egos, who have quirks, or who just want to make a lot of money posing,” Cruz said.
Aitana’s income is quite varied.
She earns just over €1,000 per ad and recently became the face of Big, a sports supplement company, and as if that wasn’t enough, she uploads photos of herself in lingerie to Fanvue, a platform similar to OnlyFans.
In a year and a half, she has gained more than 343,000 followers on Instagram and her photos generate thousands of views and reactions. She even receives private messages from celebrities who are unaware that she is not a real person.
Her success was followed by two other models, including Madrid singer-songwriter Lia Z. who became the first AI to land a recording contract, according to the agency.
“One day, a well-known Latin American actor texted her asking her to go out with him. This actor has around 5 million followers and some of our team members watched his TV series when they were kids,” said Cruz said.
“He didn’t know Aitana didn’t exist,” he added.
How to bring AI to life?
Every week, the agency team meets to create Aitana’s life. They decide what she will do during the week, what places she will visit and what photos will be uploaded to feed followers who want to know her.
But there’s no photoshoot, no wardrobe change, just a mix of AI and design experts using Photoshop to get the model to spend the weekend in Madrid, for example.
“In the first month, we realized that people were following lives, not images. Since she’s not alive, we had to give her some reality so people could relate to her in a real way. We had to tell a story somehow.” said the graphic designer.
This is why Aitana, unlike traditional models whose personality is usually not revealed so that they can provide a “blank canvas” for designers, has a very distinct “personality”.
She was created as a fitness enthusiast, determined and with a complex character. On her website, she describes herself as outgoing and caring.
“A lot of thought went into Aitana. We created it based on what society loves most. We thought about the tastes, hobbies and niches that have been trending in recent years “Cruz explained.
After analyzing trends, they realized that Eastern culture had become very Europeanized in recent years, so they tried to capture that in his pink hair and gamer side.
Aitana has been so successful that its designers have already created a second virtual model called Maia, “a little more shy”.
The names were not chosen at random either, both contain the acronym AI.
Democratize the use of models?
The agency has been inundated with requests from brands wanting their own custom design.
“They want to have an image that is not a real person and represents their brand values, so that there are no continuity issues if they have to lay someone off or if they can’t no longer rely on them,” Cruz said.
There are also cost savings. When the agency, which previously worked with real influencers, realized what they were making, they found it “abnormal”.
“Kim Kardashian earns a million euros for an Instagram photo and it doesn’t cure cancer. Nobody earns a million euros for uploading a photo to a social network, that seems absurd to me,” he said .
The agency believes this could help drive down market prices and give a boost to small businesses that cannot afford large advertising campaigns.
However, the initiative is not without its critics. Many fear that the unrealistic perfection of models may cause the younger generation to become obsessed with achieving such perfection.
We also criticize the very sexualized image of the models created. To which the agency responds that it simply follows the aesthetic already created by real influencers and the brands themselves.
“If we don’t follow this aesthetic, brands won’t be interested. To change this system, we need to change the way brands see it. The world in general is sexualized,” its creators said.
