AI·nologyEuropeVodafone’s new ad ves even influencers can be replaced by AIBy Marco Quiroz-GutierrezBy Marco Quiroz-GutierrezReporterMarco Quiroz-GutierrezReporterRole: ReporterMarco Quiroz-Gutierrez is a reporter for Fortune covering general news.SEE FULL BIO 29 May 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Duesseldorf: A company sign with the Vodafone logo stands in front of the company headquarters.
Thomas Banneyer—picture alliance via Getty ImagesThe German subsidiary of British telecom Vodafone used an AI influencer to advertise a motion on its TikTok account, marking its most recent foray into AI-generated advertising.
Last year, the company published an entirely AI-generated advertisement. The recent experiment by Vodafone comes as AI influencers become more commonplace online.
British telecom company Vodafone is testing the limits of nology by using an AI influencer in its advertisements.
In a uploaded to the TikTok account of its German subsidiary, a young brunette woman can be seen talking up the company’s connectivity speeds and a 120-euro cashback motion.
Yet, the woman doesn’t really exist.
In reply to a user who picked up on the telltale signs of AI, including the disappearing and reappearing moles on her chin, the company noted that it was experimenting with the nology.
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♬ Originalton – vodafone_de “…we’re trying out different styles—as AI is now such a big part of everyday life, people are experimenting with it in advertising too,” the company responded in German.
The telecom company has in the past experimented with using AI in advertisements, including in an advertisement “The Rhythm of Life,” published last year.
The advertisement started with a birth ed by miscellaneous images of a child playing games, a person skydiving, and a wedding intertwined with Vodafone branding.
The ad was “100% AI-duced without a single real pixel,” Vodafone’s global senior brand identity and communications manager Amr El Badry told Ad Age in December 2024.
Vodafone did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for . Vodafone’s most recent TikTok experiment comes as AI influencers become more commonplace.
One AI influencer, Lil Miquela, has 2.4 million ers and charges $73,920 per post, according to The New York Times.
Lil Miquela has taken selfies with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has att the VMAs, and complains on her Instagram deepfakes of her liferating online.
In the background, the influencer is controlled by a team of people at company Dapper Labs. Influencers are among the most recent jobs being challenged by AI.
Recent studies have shown entry-level positions especially vulnerable to automation are being scaled back thanks to AI.
A Stanford University study published last month found early-career workers in these fields have experienced a 13% decline in relative employment.
Even some of the people who helped create the nology for this AI-driven work revolution have warned the potential for displacement.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei earlier this year made waves by predicting AI would eliminate half of all entry-level, white-collar jobs.
The “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton told the Financial Times “rich people are going to use AI to replace workers,” leading to a huge unemployment spike and record fits.
Even Bill Gates, who has been generally optimistic on AI and encouraged Gen Z workers to experiment with it, said being experienced with AI may not prevent job displacement.
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