{"id":2291,"date":"2020-03-25T19:31:36","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T19:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leap.staging.ribbitt.com\/leap-group\/make-a-influencer\/"},"modified":"2022-08-10T14:53:38","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T14:53:38","slug":"make-a-influencer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leap.staging.ribbitt.com\/leap-group\/make-a-influencer\/","title":{"rendered":"Make-A-Influencer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Make-A-Influencer\"

\nScroll a few images through her Instagram feed, or listen to her tracks on Spotify, and @lilmiquela<\/a> may appear like a normal model\/singer\/influencer seen amongst other celebrities. On her feed, she has pictures with Olympian Morgan Lake, tattoo artist Dr. Woo and other recognizable names.

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\nHer classic hairstyle \u2013 Princess-Leia inspired buns \u2013 pairs nicely with brands she works with: Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Nike, Prada, Outdoor Voices, the list goes on. She also touts print features, including Paper Magazine, King Kong Magazine, Vogue and many others. 

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\nBut April 19, Miquela posted a 6-page note, from her, to her followers, \u201ccoming out\u201d as a robot. Or, a CGI-generated \u201cbot.\u201d

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\nAnd then she broke the internet. <\/strong>

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\nBefore this post, Miquela\u2019s followers were commenting on her photos, asking if she was real. Why her buns and flyaways were always in the same spot. And begging her to come clean about her identity as a robot. Once the Brazilian-American-inspired \u201cmodel\u201d came clean, comments read:<\/p>\n

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@brransdell \u201cso what you\u2019re saying is, there\u2019s robots already made to the extent that they are considered human? Sis- no. what is this account\u201d

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\n@awkwardly_annoying_ \u201cBIGGEST PLOT TWIST OF THE CENTURY.\u201d

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\n@kikilovespupslol \u201cthe moment we have all been waiting for\u201d<\/h4>\n

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Vogue dubbed her the \u201cFictional It Girl.\u201d Followers may have noticed Miquela\u2019s striking consistencies, but she was too close to the Uncanny Valley to ultimately determine without her 6-page letter. 

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\nJapanese Roboticist Masahiro Mori coined the term \u201cuncanny valley\u201d in 1970 when he surmised as robots become more human-like, but not quite human, people developed a sense of discomfort. 

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\n\"Make-a-influencer-3\"

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\nAside from Miquela, there are a total of four CGI-created personas. Bermuda (@bermudaisbae<\/a>) and Blawko (@blawko22<\/a>) \u2013 we felt it necessary to share their handles, since they only live via the internet \u2013 are allegedly created by the same company as Miquela \u2013 a Los Angeles based start-up called Brud. Shudu (@shudu.gram<\/a>) is the \u201cWorld\u2019s First Digital Supermodel,\u201d created by British photographer Cameron-James Wilson.

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\nBut, mirroring reality TV, there\u2019s drama between Miquela, Blawko and Bermuda. For those interested, it looks a little like this:

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