Virtual influencers, digital characters brought to life through CGI and AI, are emerging as powerful marketing tools, leading to an industry focused on their creation and management. However, there is a concerning pattern where many of these personas are represented as young women of color, typically designed by male creators from diverse racial backgrounds. Jul Parke, a PhD candidate, examines the implications of this phenomenon, emphasizing the commercialization of gender and racial identity in the digital landscape as social media platforms evolve and allow users to generate their own virtual identities.
Virtual influencers, characters brought to life by CGI and AI, are rapidly growing in popularity, creating an industry of agencies and multi-million dollar personas.
Jul Parke's research highlights a troubling trend where virtual influencers are often racialized women, crafted predominantly by male creators from different racial backgrounds.
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