Spanish model Aitana Lopez has perfectly arched eyebrows and a full, rosy pout. Light bounces off her high cheekbones, and her body suggests she counts a personal trainer among her loyal companions. Adoration from her 127,000 Instagram followers fills the comment section of her posts: “Gorgeous.” “Sublime.” “You’ve officially stolen my heart.”
Lopez, however, isn’t real. She’s AI generated. She’s also a successful influencer. She can make up to 10,000 euros a month (more than $10,000), according to the Barcelona design agency that created her and maintains her seductive social media persona.
That agency, called The Clueless, says AI models are more reliable and easier to work with than humans, who have pesky egos and don’t always show up for shoots on time. Lopez currently represents the face of Big, a sports supplement brand. Use a code with her name in it when ordering its products online and get a discount. You know the influencer drill.
“We are not just an AI modeling agency, we are visionaries on a mission to redefine the world of influencers,” The Clueless says on its site. “Our goal is to transcend the conventional realm of modeling and lead the way in influencing, ushering in a new era characterized by authenticity, impact and deep meaning.”
As part of that attempt at authenticity, the agency assigns its models distinct personalities and life stories. Lopez is a passionate 25-year-old Scorpio who’s into cosplay, video games and fitness.
“With boldness and authenticity, she faces challenges and expresses her opinion without reservation, although her complicated humor and self-centeredness sometimes make it difficult to get a smile out of her, showing her complexity,” a bio for Lopez reads. “As a content creator, she shines with extroversion, attracting attention with her striking character.”
Maia Lima, the second of two AI-generated models currently featured on the site, hails from Argentina. “Her loving nature is manifested in her bisexual orientation, which reflects her openness and diversity in her relationships,” her bio says.
Pixels or person?
Lopez and Lima are just the latest A.I.-generated humans blurring the lines between machine-driven humans and real ones. The more public-facing ones include AI newscasters, AI K-pop band members and other virtual models whose appearances have raised concerns about unrealistic beauty standards that could prove particularly damaging to young girls.
Looking at photos of these models, it’s hard to tell they’re made of pixels. With a few exceptions. In one photo of Lopez, the strange contours of her left bicep don’t match those of her more believable-looking right arm. In other photos, she stares into the camera with glassy brown eyes that look like they belong in a cartoon. Her bust size changes drastically from photo to photo.
That hasn’t stopped her fandom from growing on Instagram, X and TikTok. The #aimodel hashtag that now appears on those accounts hasn’t stopped the lovefest either. The Clueless didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but told Euronews Lopez even has some celebrity admirers.
“One day, a well-known Latin American actor texted to ask her out,” said Rubén Cruz, founder of the agency. “This actor has about 5 million followers and some of our team watched his TV series when they were kids. He had no idea Aitana didn’t exist.”
Lopez, who first posted to Instagram in early July, even responds to praise on the platform, answering fans in both Spanish and English. “Gracias guapo” (thank you handsome), she’ll respond to a comment. Or “Thank u baby.”
More people, though, seem to be catching on to her true origins, no doubt thanks to the little photographic oddities that hint at her algorithmic origins, the press she’s started getting as “Spain’s first AI model” and increasing awareness of the ways AI is permeating our culture.
“Easy boy,” one Instagram user responded to another’s declarations of love. “It is some lines of code.”
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