I opened TikTok whereas visiting Germany final week and stumbled throughout a Vodafone ad being introduced by a girl who in all probability doesn’t exist. The advert consists of a number of “tells” that counsel the presenter was artificially created utilizing generative AI — the unnatural model and motion of her hair, the best way her moles disappear, and the uncanny valley vibe of her facial expressions — and Vodafone confirmed my suspicions in its video feedback.
In response to a commenter asking why Vodafone couldn’t put “an actual particular person in entrance of the digital camera,” the corporate mentioned it was “testing completely different types of promoting — this time with AI,” in keeping with machine translation of the German textual content. In one other remark, Vodafone mentioned that “AI is a lot part of on a regular basis life today that we additionally strive it out in promoting.”
As an advert, it actually captured my consideration, however solely as a result of my mind registered that there was one thing “off.”
This isn’t the primary time that Vodafone has embraced generative AI in its advertisements, having released a commercial last year during which every shot was AI-generated. Faux influencers created utilizing synthetic intelligence are additionally rising in recognition, in keeping with a New York Times report, with notable examples like Lil’ Miquela — a creation of tech firm Dapper Labs — having already appeared in campaigns for Calvin Klein, Prada, and BMW.