IMAGINE you are scrolling through your Instagram feed when you suddenly stumble upon the profile of a stunning supermodel.
You look at her pictures and think, “God, she’s beautiful,” and hit the follow button without another thought.
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You scroll through all her curated posts and instantly become her biggest fan.
Her gorgeous pink locks, snatched waist, and flawless skin make you fall head over heels.
But it is only when you take a closer look at the bio of her profile that you realise she is not real but an exquisite product of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
If that has ever happened to you, chances are that you came across the Instagram profile of Aitana López, a 25-year-old virtual influencer from Barcelona.
Dubbed Spain‘s “hottest supermodel”, she’s the creation of Clueless AI – an artificial intelligence company that is redefining the modelling industry with hyper-realistic avatars.
Aitana has been meticulously designed to work at the Spanish modelling agency, blurring the line between what is real and what is virtual.
Followers often find themselves questioning whether she’s flesh and blood or pixels and code.
People send dinner invitations to Aitana and expect her to come because they think she is real
Diana Nunez
She works as an influencer on Instagram, partnering with various brands across social media, earning a whopping £1,000 per post.
Inside her digital world, Aitana does everything a real human would – posing for her 350,000 fans around the world in designer outfits.
She even goes to restaurants, does intense workouts, and even replies to messages from her adoring followers.
And as one would expect, Aitana’s realism often leads to some hilarious misunderstandings and funny fan interactions.
Diana Nunez, Aitana’s creator, told The Sun that once a fan claimed to have seen Aitana shopping, sparking confusion in the comments section.
She said: “Someone commented under one of Aitana’s posts, saying, ‘Oh my gosh! I just saw Aitana shopping at the local grocery store.’
“People had to explain that she was an AI avatar and couldn’t physically be there.”
Even more amusing was the reaction from brands unfamiliar with Clueless AI’s concept.
Some agencies invited Aitana to real-life events, believing she was a real supermodel.
“Brands and people from outside of Spain, who didn’t fully understand the concept, started inviting Aitana to events, believing she was a real person,” Diana said.
Aiatana looks so real that once a fan claimed to have seen her shopping at a local grocery store
Diana Nunez
She added: “They even sent invitations with details like a three-course meal and a dress code, genuinely expecting her to attend,” Juliana revealed.
Aitana’s ability to fool people shows how AI has developed rapidly, and Diana, who co-founded Clueless AI, explained the process behind Aitana’s creation.
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She said: “Aitana López has been designed to look as real as possible, thanks to a meticulous process involving artificial intelligence, editing, and artistic direction.
“Her hyper-realistic appearance, combined with the development of her personality, story, and style, has allowed her to genuinely connect with the public.”
From the outset, Clueless AI treated Aitana as if she were a living, breathing person.
Every detail of her social media presence – from her captions to her interactions – was carefully crafted to feel authentic and real.
Diana said: “We’ve managed to make Aitana capable of creating a deeper and more lasting connection with her audience.
“If she were a real person, Aitana would likely be the life of the party – charismatic, stylish, and endlessly magnetic.
“She would keep her bold personality and great sense of humour.”
Supermodel fears
Diana shared that they currently have a collection of more than 15 avatars for agencies to hire, functioning like a traditional supermodel agency.
But she revealed there are many concerns within the fashion industry where real supermodels are now competing with AI.
The founder explained that physical models may worry about the unique advantages of AI avatars, such as their ability to be cloned and work simultaneously across multiple campaigns.
For influencers working on social media platforms, there is a fear of their real faces being merged into AI.
Diana said: “We have had many conversations with real-life models and influencers.
“The majority, mainly due to a lack of knowledge about what AI can really do, feel some level of respect and even see it as a threat.
“This is because they are unable to see the huge tool that it is and how much it can amplify both their audience and their professional and personal capabilities.”
Despite these concerns, Diana believes AI presents an opportunity to coexist with traditional modelling.
She said: “We see a clear future for AI in the fashion industry, as it solves many problems, especially in terms of speed and cost.
“We don’t believe that AI will take full control of the industry, but we do believe it will coexist within the market.
“Depending on the brand or client’s needs, AI will be used entirely or in the way we’ve been using it until now.”
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Plans for future
Diana’s company is now deeply invested in expanding its portfolio and exploring innovative applications for AI avatars.
One of the ideas is to create a virtual companion that will help fight loneliness and even heal people struggling with mental health issues while acting as a therapist.
Diana told The Sun: “AI is used by many people who are lonely or simply want someone to talk to, even as a form of therapy.
“A future project we could develop is creating an avatar with a companion-like profile, not in a romantic sense, but as a friend or therapist to support people during moments of loneliness.”
What makes this concept unique is the attention to detail in the design process, the founder said.
She added: “The interesting part of this project is that it wouldn’t follow the typical patterns of a model.
“Instead, we would conduct a study to identify physical traits that inspire trust, peace, calm, and security, in order to create an avatar profile that truly meets these emotional needs.”
However, some experts fear that virtual companions – like AI-driven chatbots, virtual assistants, or digital entities designed to mimic human interaction – could potentially cause individuals to lose touch with real-life experiences and relationships.
‘Perfect’ AI girlfriends ruining entire generation of men
By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter
THE rise of “perfect” AI girlfriends is ruining an entire generation of men, an expert has warned.
Virtual girlfriends fuelled by AI are making single men lonelier than ever – and could pose significant risks to real human relationships.
Today, AI girlfriends offered by apps such as Replika and Eva AI are completely customisable according to the users’ needs.
Users can tailor their personal bots, adjusting everything from the colour of their hair to the length of their legs.
And for single men looking for solace in these artificial relationships, AI girlfriends eventually end up becoming the “perfect partner”.
Speaking to The Sun, data science professor Liberty Vittert said these virtual girlfriends are blurring the lines between real and virtual companionship.
“AI girlfriends are becoming more like physical beings – they are almost indiscernible from a real human,” she said.
“They look like real people and are shockingly good when it comes to replicating human interactions.
“The AI girlfriend is never tired, grumpy or has a bad day, she just gives the users what they need to hear unconditionally.
“It’s always this perfect relationship for lonely single men, which is very dangerous because it further isolates them from real human connections.”