She will have a photorealistic avatar
Kim Kardashian having an AI version of herself doesn't feel strange, it would make complete sense. She has spent more than two decades meticulously crafting herself into one of the biggest celebrities of all time. And she is one of the most commercially successful ones because she's not just famous, she's scalable.
SKIMS, beauty, partnerships, television, licensing, everything — so much — all garner attention. Her celebrity is so great because it is as a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Every individual appearance, post, launch and campaign is considered. She is strategic.
On an episode of The Kardashians, Kim went through the process of creating an exact 3D-modelled mannequin of her body for fittings, designers could use a replica of her figure instead of constantly needing her there in person. Most people would see fittings as a necessary part of the process. Kim will see unnecessary repetition, time that could be spent elsewhere.
Kim has always been early to understanding where attention is moving and how technology changes markets. She has moved from tabloid culture to reality TV, from Instagram to her own app, from endorsements to brand-ownership, from store-retail to direct-to-consumer. Her next big move will be from real to a real-synthetic hybrid.
One version of Kim could be filmed for The Kardashians at the same time another shoots campaign content for SKIMS. Does it matter which Kim was the real? Real-Kim can be asleep while her avatar gives product demos or delivers beauty tutorials; Kiim can host a private event in LA while her avatar take part in a Q&A at at FaW TOKYO - a Q&A in Japanese. If the opinions of an avatar can be attributed to a real person then the fact the face and voice are synthetic doesn't diminish them.
Her brand will grow
People accept that celebrities use teams to create and manage their content. People will accept celebrities using Generative AI for the same reason: fundamentally they care about what is produced, not how it is produced. What matters is whether the content feels authentic. An avatar will allow creators to meet every content demand they want to, which means more content. And that content will be judged on its value not its nature, not whether it's synthetic.
Some of the best images are retouched, some of the best shots are blended with graphics. Ten years ago Kim ‘broke the internet’ with a photo that, spoiler, wasn't entirely real. Content that is interesting, informative or fun is valued, whether it is real or not is irrelevant in most instances. Kim cloning herself to meet the content demands placed upon her won't dilute her magic because she will ensure quality. So her brand will grow.
Quantity often comes at the cost of quality. In everyday life we all see that the further we have to spread ourselves the less of us there is for each thing. That's not the way to think about Generative AI, GenAI doesn't spread it multiplies. And what's truly exciting is its potential to increase our quality too, allowing us not only to give more but to give both more and better.
Creating GenAI content
The Kim persona is content-based. The documentation of her life is more designed to be content than a record of the person Kim Kardashian. And her content is her business. Every post supports products, partnerships, launches and visibility across multiple companies at once. Scaling her content means scaling her business. She will see GenAI as a business opportunity not a threat. That's how all brands should see it.
While Kim is a brand, Kim Kardashian is a creator. The creator in her, the creative team around her, will see GenAI as a means to create what her audience wants: more quality content that's authentically her. All creators should see GenAI this way. Yes, it will transform the industry as a whole but for creators it's like a new software, a new platform on which to post. It's not radically different in regards to the content production process.
Creating authentic, engaging content with GenAI will follow the same process as for traditional content: generating ideas and putting them into production. Creators will need to learn how to use new tools in the production process, of course. What is less appreciated is that these tools assist idea generation. The biggest beneficiaries of GenAI will be those who best use it to generate incredible ideas. That's the difference that creators should be focused on: how GenAI can complement creativity, not just increase output.