The problem with Mia Zelu and the rise of fake AI influencers

The scene looked real, with the sun setting over a summer’s day in southwest London.

In another shot, the figure is pictured playing with a strand of her blonde hair while seated beside an elderly gentleman in the stands at Wimbledon.

Meet Mia Zelu, the “AI* influencer” under whose profile these images were posted.

But Mia Zelu is fake. She’s not real. She does not exist.

She’s an AI creation, a bot. Still, she has amassed 165,000 followers from just 55 posts on Instagram, fooling the world.

It may appear harmless fun on social media but, according to global photography agency Getty Images, it’s a big problem.

Here’s why.

The explosion of AI has made it easier than ever to trick people online.

With a few simple verbal prompts, anyone can create photorealistic images and videos – even with sound. Bots that appear human risk spreading serious falsehoods and misinformation, and have the potential to cause very real harm.

More worrying is that the technology can be used to create criminal material that hurts innocent people.

In many cases, it just wastes everyone’s time. One elderly Malaysian couple travelled 4.5 hours across the country to go on a cable ride they saw online, only to find it didn’t exist. It was generated by artificial intelligence.

But let’s get back to Mia Zelu.

Getty Asia-Pacific head of creative Kate Rourke said thousands of people mistook her as real, despite the profile bio stating she was an “AI influencer”.

Ms Rourke said this misunderstanding showed the need to clearly label AI-generated content, warning that Zelu “isn’t just a one-off trend”.

“It echoes findings from our VisualGSP research and image testing in Australia and New Zealand,” Ms Rourke said.

“Our findings showed that while 69 per cent of people could spot at least one AI image, a staggering 95 per cent also mistakenly thought real images were AI-generated.

“It’s no surprise that 68 per cent of people told us that, in general, they can’t tell if an image is AI-generated. This highlights the need for clear labelling for AI-generated content. In fact, 90 per cent of consumers agree that building trust and maintaining brand integrity* (is critical) in the age of AI.”

Ms Rourke said Getty’s study showed the effect of social media’s gloss mixing with AI advances.

“People are used to seeing curated*, almost perfect images from human influencers, achieved through extensive editing, filters and professional photography,” she said. “Zelu, being entirely AI-generated, naturally embodies this idealised flawless skin, perfect lighting and picture-perfect poses.”

“AI-generated content is currently ‘hyper-polished’, allowing it to seamlessly blend into the existing visual standard that many people have come to expect. The fact that thousands of fans mistook her for real, despite her AI disclosure*, points to how our eyes have become conditioned to this hyper-polished aesthetic* on social media.”

Some companies already label AI content. Samsung will automatically watermark* photos that have been edited using AI – even for minor and harmless changes.

Canva has made some of its technology freely available to other developers to help stop artificially generated imagery being used for political deepfakes*, hate speech and other abusive material.

Ms Rourke said the issue boiled down to building trust and doing things ethically.

“The burden of discerning* real from synthetic* content shouldn’t fall solely on the user,” she said. “Creators of AI models and adopters of AI bear a significant responsibility to encourage transparent, ethical* and responsible use of generative AI.”

POLL

GLOSSARY

• AI: artificial intelligence, the use or study of computer systems or machines that have some of the qualities that the human brain has, such as the ability to interpret and produce language
• integrity: being honest and having strong moral principles
• curated: carefully chosen and deliberately put together
• disclosure: making something known or the fact that is made known
• aesthetic: the particular look or style of something
• deepfake: image, video or sound recording that replaces someone’s face or voice with that of someone else, in a way that appears real
• discerning: able to make or usually making careful judgments about the quality of similar things
• watermark: an identifier like a logo or unique code, used to authenticate or classify something
• synthetic: an artificial substance, material or thing
• ethical: relating to beliefs about what is morally right and wrong

EXTRA READING

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Teen rite of passage in AI’s path

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QUICK QUIZ

1. What is the “AI influencer’s” name on social media?
2. How many followers has the fake influencer amassed?
3. How many posts have been added to that profile?
4. In Getty’s VisualGSP research findings, what percentage of people said they can’t tell if an image is real or AI-generated?
5. What do 90 per cent of consumers agree on, according to the Getty research?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What do you think?
Do you think that governments should place rules or limits on how AI is used in social media? Write a list of convincing reasons for or against.

Time: allow at least 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Civics and Citizenship

2. Extension
Do you know what the purpose of influencers, human or AI, on social media really is? Write down your ideas. Then use your detective skills to find out more. Use the information that you have found to create a learning resource (a poster, for example) that could help other kids understand this.

Time: allow at least 60 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.