The Problematic Fakery Of Lil Miquela Explained — An Exploration Of Virtual Influencers and Realness
Matt Kleinzine.kleinkleinklein.com
The Problematic Fakery Of Lil Miquela Explained — An Exploration Of Virtual Influencers and Realness
We have generated billions of dollars for social media platforms through our desire—and then through a subsequent, escalating economic and cultural requirement—to replicate for the internet who we know, who we think we are, who we want to be.
Jia Tolentino • Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
My TikTok NPC essay captures the full phenomenon of our Internet crisis: influencers are taking on slavish, robotic personas to feed the dope-addled masses who want endlessly looping catch phrases.
Did Kate Middleton disappear? Why? Did she die? Was she assassinated? Is she just embarrassed of the sickly way she looks? People are going paranoid in speculation. The only knowable thing is we’re at a point where it’s feasible for AI video to impersonate real celerities. This is part of the “trust flip.” We will get duped more and more, until we’
... See moreTo prove to others—and to myself—that I do indeed exist, I needed to give the machine fresh content: new takes, new rage, new intimacy. Yet I found myself utterly unable to deliver, unable to do the basic identity maintenance I had done for my entire adult life and that the attention economy demands.