Background information
The Tsunami of AI music: more is definitely not better
by David Lee
Miquela is the future of the entertainment industry, but she raises big and important questions
13.5.2020
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Miquela Sousa doesn’t exist. Miquela Sousa has a career in music, an Instagram following and a YouTube Vlog. The virtual star is now under contract with a Hollywood agency. It’s time that we as a society asked ourselves some questions about virtual stars. And about what it means to be human.
Miquela sometimes calls herself Li'l Miquela. She’s an influencer with 2.2 million followers. Miquela once portrayed a couple who refer to themselves as magicians. She had a photo of her aura taken by them. She sings.
Miquela doesn't exist.
The «life» of this virtual superstar
Miquela first made a public appearance in 2016. Without further explanation, she started posting pictures on Instagram. In the following years, she evolved from an online oddity to a multimedia phenomenon. A virtual character who openly talks about not being real and calls herself a «change-seeking robot».
Miquela has worked with Samsung and describes herself as a member of #teamGalaxy. Ironically, all her mirror selfies were shot with an iPhone 11.
I think it’s safe to assume that Miquela is a mix of animation and motion capture. When she interacts with the real world – with the magicians' candle or the like – this was probably done by an actress with a build similar to Miquela’s. In other words, it was the actress who lit the candle. And it’s an actress who hugs people or picks up physical objects. The animators at Brud then take this type of footage and replace the actress with Miquela.
On other occasions, Miquela is purely computer animated. That’s when she steps into Uncanny Valley; meaning, her movements are anatomically correct for a human, but they still look wrong. Even when she’s complaining about her make-up and sweaty forehead. Next up, she talks about feeling hurt by somebody tweeting «Imagine meeting someone who isn’t real».
Miquela’s not the only project that Brud have unleashed. They also spawned Bermuda and Blawko. The two of them used to be an item; their break-up was painful. There was lots of digital drama surrounding these three.
And it’s this contradiction between «I’m not real» and «My eyeliner’s smudged because I’ve been crying so much» that makes Miquela’s digital life fascinating.
Are digital stars the future?
Computer animation keeps getting better. However, there’s still one major obstacle to be overcome. The computing time required to animate. Elements such as hair or skin, but mainly details including freckles and pores, are complex and time-consuming to simulate and render.
However, if you could use a real actress and simply replace her face, you could save an incredible amount of time and computing power. In other words, this would be a way to generate content much faster and in better quality.
That’s the case for Miquela. So who’s the actress behind this virtual celebrity? We don’t know. The word on the street last year was that Emily Bador plays Miquela because she looks a lot like her.
And this is what makes virtual stars attractive. They’re available at very short notice and deliver consistent quality. Shooting a movie? Not a problem. Somebody slips into Miquela’s motion-capture suit, Miquela’s virtual model is rendered overnight and the scene’s good to go the following morning.
Miquela’s up for anything.
Miquela never gets sick. She doesn’t age. Doesn’t need breaks. She fits into every item of clothing or costume and performs any stunt, no matter how impossible. She has no airs and no moods. Well, except for those that her programmers want her to have. And she delivers those flawlessly.
Miquela is the perfect performer.
We need a framework
Hollywood’s already taken up the issue. «The Congress», released in 2013, tells the story of how a fictional version of the actress Robin Wright is digitised.
It would be foolish to believe that there will never be abuse of the situation. Guaranteed there’s Miquela porn out there. After all, Rule 34 is a reality.
Let’s assume there’s somebody out there making Miquela porn. Or, less extreme, creating a video of her that doesn’t fit into the creators’ storyline. No big deal, right? The worst thing that could happen is a court case for copyright infringement and somebody having to pay a fine. Remember, Miquela doesn’t exist. She’s a product without feelings or dignity.
Things become trickier if you’re dealing with a case like the one in the movie «The Congress». If a real actress were digitised and videos with her virtual version started to pop up, you’re not only looking at copyright infringement but also at issues regarding human dignity. This is where we’re on thin ice.
And what does this all mean when it comes to Miquela?
There’s an interesting side note to add to this whole train of thought. If we granted the virtual model of a real person a dignity that is untouchable, this raises the question: do virtual stars have a dignity? If so, who defines it? The authors of Miquela’s life?
I’m afraid I don’t have the answers to these questions. I’d like to solve this problem right here, but it seems impossible. Therefore, I’d like this article to be food for thought. Where do you draw the line? Maybe you have a solution?
That’s all for today. By the way, Miquela’s ringtone is the communicator jingle from «Kim Possible».
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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