Two viral influencers are thriving—only one is human

AI-generated personas are surging across TikTok and other platforms, challenging the time- and cost-intensive model of human influencers and reshaping a creator economy valued at over $250 billion. A University of Illinois student’s AI avatar, “Gigi,” amassed millions of views within weeks, earning thousands of dollars through platform payouts and partnerships, while traditional creators struggle to match the volume and speed of AI output. Scholars say the rise of “AI slop” could democratize fame by lowering barriers to production but also warn of mounting risks, including misinformation, scams and eroding media literacy. Platforms and regulators face pressure to tighten labeling and disclosure rules as synthetic content grows ever more realistic.

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