Look closely. Is that a real person?
I spoke with Madison Malone Kircher, a reporter covering internet culture for The New York Times for this story:
“The A.I. Influencer Ads Are Coming”
Below is a brief extract from the article. Please visit The New York Times to read the full story here.
“TikTok has also previously come under scrutiny for blurring the lines between what is organic content and what’s actually an ad. Some worry the introduction of A.I. could make advertising on the platform bring about more confusion.
Mara Einstein, a marketing professor at Queens College and the author of the book “Black Ops Advertising,” said that the avatars TikTok unveiled on Monday were a far cry from being easy to confuse for real humans, describing their speech and behavior as “stilted.” (Dr. Einstein is also a TikTok creator herself, with just over 18,000 followers.)
“I think that people who spend any time on TikTok at all are going to be smart enough to realize that they’re looking at an avatar,” she said.
If the ads lack that human element, they could fall short of reaching consumers, she added.
“The biggest problem with A.I. is A.I. builds on what already exists — so, you know, it’s searching around and finding information, but it’s that you’re only going to find what’s in the database,” Dr. Einstein said. “You’re not going to find what’s creative and new. People don’t want things they’ve already seen.”
Still, she noted, the technology will probably only improve, potentially making the A.I.-generated avatars more convincing.”