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AI-generated video tools like OpenAI’s Sora 2 are quickly taking over social media feeds, and it’s shaking up the world of Hollywood influencers. With just a few prompts, anyone can now create polished and realistic clips — no camera, no lights, no editing suite needed. The rules of the game have changed.
When creativity meets automation
For influencers who built their brands on camera expertise and handmade edits, the rise of generative AI feels like a double-edged sword. On paper, tools like Sora 2 should offer endless possibilities — faster content, wilder ideas, fewer production hurdles. But in a space where everyone suddenly has access to the same capabilities, originality risks getting lost.
Influencers who’ve spent years honing their skills now wonder if the value of that craft is disappearing. A slick video that once took hours to produce can now be made in seconds, by almost anyone. And when everything looks perfect, how do you stand out?
That’s the tension: AI doesn’t just make content easier to create. It also flattens what makes creators unique — their voice, their style, their human messiness that made them relatable in the first place. To read Gwen Stefani headlines magical 2025 Disney Christmas Parade
When AI becomes a ghost director
Some creators are already pushing back. Sam Yang, a Toronto-based digital artist with nearly 2 million YouTube followers, is one of the voices calling out how AI is trained. In his eyes, it’s not just about the technology. It’s about ethics. He accuses AI firms of scraping artwork without permission, creating a kind of ghost authorship — where inspiration quietly becomes imitation, even forgery.
Yang isn’t alone. Sinead Bovell, both model and activist with a strong presence on Instagram and TikTok, warns that the arrival of AI-generated models could completely rewrite what audiences expect from the fashion world. Who’s in front of the camera — a person paid fairly or just data stitched into flesh?
What rattled me most is what The Atlantic uncovered: at least a million how-to influencer videos were fed, without consent, into AI training sets. Beauty tutorials, woodworking tips — entire niches replicated by machines. Imagine pouring yourself into years of filmed knowledge, only to find it used by others, with no credit or compensation. We’re not just talking about inspiration here. It’s mimicry at industrial scale.
What AI changes — and what it doesn’t
Yet it’s not all doom and pixelated gloom. There’s a valid argument that AI might help shift focus back onto what influencers have that AI lacks: personality, connection, vulnerability.
Some virtual influencers have already taken the spotlight — Aitana López, created by Barcelona-based The Clueless, and Lil Miquela, backed by Vancouver’s Dapper Labs, are fully digital personas with millions of followers. And yet, behind them are teams of humans giving them voice, attitude, even flaws. It’s strange but fascinating: artificial characters being made compelling by actual human insight. To read Toho expands into Europe with bold anime distribution moves
Here’s what’s likely to matter more in this new era:
- A unique visual aesthetic that can’t be replicated by templates
- An authentic voice or story that people connect with emotionally
- The ability to adapt and react in real time — something AI still struggles with
- A loyal community built on trust, not just aesthetics
Personally, I think we’re entering a phase where polish will matter less than presence. AI might be able to produce endless beauty shots and clever edits, but it still can’t replace a moment of truth shared in front of the lens — the kind that folds silence into meaning, or a mistake into magic.
The challenge for influencers isn’t just how to use AI tools. It’s how to stay distinct when the tools make everything look easy. It’s a scary shift, but it’s also a chance. For those who lean into what really makes them human — their flaws, their humor, their point of view — AI might become just another brush, not the painter.
