The Rise of the Computer-Generated Celebrity

A new generation of celebrities is selling out concerts, starring in commercials, and amassing huge Instagram followings. But none of them existcorporeally, anyway. In recent years, and starting in Japan, technology and social media have spawned a digital demimonde of computer-generated stars, ranging from fake musicians and models to company mascots who appear as holograms (like Betty Crocker, with AI). When theyre not entertaining you, theyre trying to convince you of their humanity, and even the more cartoonish among them have fleshed-out personalities. In a way, its the purest expression of celebrity, which has always been an elaborate illusion. CGI starlets, though, are much easier to control, says Ryan Detert, CEO of the branding firm Influential. Except when they misbehave.

Shes not really fooling anyoneHatsune Miku is a schoolgirlish, turquoise-haired anime mascot designed by a Japanese software company to sell a voice synthesizer. As consumers began using the product to compose original music, Miku became a sensation. For years now, shes been performing at massive IRL concerts, where her hologram sings those fan-written songs.

In 2011, the Japanese girl group AKB48 announced its newest member, 16-year-old Aimi Eguchi. Nobody had ever heard of her. When Aimi started showing up in ads and commercials for a popular Japanese snack company, fans got suspicious. Finally, AKB48 had to admit that Eguchi didnt exist: She was a publicity ploy, created through a digital mashup of other band members faces.

In her two-plus years on Instagram, the selfie-snapping 19-year-old Lil Miquela has racked up more than a million followers, partnered with Prada, and promoted causes like Black Lives Matter. Brud, a tech startup that has taken some credit for Miquela, calls her an artificially intelligent robot, though earlier this year Miquela went rogue and cut ties with my managers. Now she calls herself a free agent.

Meet Miquelas nemesis: Earlier this year, a Trump supporter named Bermuda held Lil Miquelas Instagram hostage until the latter posted a series of statements admitting that she wasnt human. The two then met IRL, and Bermuda posted a picture of them together. The feud was lame, but it demonstrated that fake influencers can attract just as much attention as the real ones (whatever real means).

Billed as the worlds first digital supermodel, Shudu is the creation of fashion photographer Cameron-James Wilson, who built her using 3-D modeling software. Some critics have side-eyed Wilson, whos white, for making a virtual black modelcouldnt he pay a real black woman to pose for him? Wilson, meanwhile, says he wants Shudu to inspire more diversity in the fashion industry.

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