Advancements in AI language programs could make it possible for fans to “speak” with - and even build up their own personal relationship with - their idols, Kang said. Virtual popstars may enjoy an advantage over human ones when it comes to engaging with their fanbases.

The music video for MAVE’s first single, “Pandora,” has already racked up 25 million views on YouTube since its release in January.

“Our goal is to create fully AI-driven virtual humans (that are) really believable,” he told CNN. The group’s vocals are part-human and part-AI-generated, said Metaverse Entertainment’s chief technical officer, Kang Sung-ku. The company employed motion capture technology to record real-life K-pop performances that a deep learning program then used to animate music videos. Metaverse Entertainment used AI technology to generate faces, merging the features and hairstyles deemed most desirable into four final characters. Members of K-pop quartet MAVE can sing, dance and speak multiple languages - all with the help of AI. “I’m surprised how realistic they sound, and the visuals look more realistic than the debut song,” reads the most liked comment on YouTube. Many social media users felt the band members’ facial expressions looked unnatural and divorced from their bodies, while others cited the “uncanny valley” effect, whereby viewers are discomforted by things that resemble humans but aren’t.īut five months later, when Pulse9 released Eternity’s next music video, “No Filter,” followers noted that the group was almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Using deepfake and motion capture technology, Pulse9 then produced the band’s first music video (to accompany the ironically titled track “I’m Real”) in 2021. Park’s team generated 101 unique digital faces, inspired by existing Korean celebrities, before dividing them into four categories - dubbed “sexy,” “cute,” “intelligent” and “innocent” - and narrowing the selection down to 11 via an online poll. The team at Pulse9 began the process of bringing eternity to “life” by designing its members’ looks. In that time, virtual influencers like Lil Miquela and South Korea’s own Rozy have gained large online followings in the fashion and music spaces.īut the latest advancements in AI-generated video and audio are making it easier for companies like Pulse9 to create convincing virtual characters, while advances in generative AI programs like ChatGPT are eliminating the need for stars like Zae-in to be “played” by anyone at all. Real-time face-swapping and early forms of “deepfake” technology have existed for almost a decade. And she’s a natural-born actress.”įorever young, beautiful and scandal-free: The rise of South Korea’s virtual influencers “She can sing very well, rap very well and she can be creative as a (fashion) designer. “Zae-in has (a combination of) characteristics that most human artists would be hard-stretched to pull off,” said the firm’s CEO Park Ji-eun. But one member in particular, Zae-in, can do it all. And the group’s creator and management company, Pulse9, believes that computer-generated stars have a significant edge over their real-life counterparts.Īs with most popular K-pop groups, Eternity’s members include a group leader, vocalists, rappers and dancers. “Hold me tight, lean on my shoulder,” one member sings.īut the group’s fans cannot do either of those things, physically speaking - because none of Eternity’s 11 bandmates are real.īuilt using AI technology, Eternity is one of the latest South Korean acts pushing the boundary between real and virtual entertainment. The dizzying camera movements and quick-paced scene changes are typical of the K-pop genre that has become a global phenomenon in recent years. In the music video for their latest single “DTDTGMGN,” members of South Korean band Eternity dance in perfect time to a bubblegum pop beat in a neon pink room decorated with school uniforms and celebrity posters.

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