Lil Miquela — the computer-generated Instagram it-girl — has been the most talked about influencer we’ve had in years.

In an op-ed piece written by Emma Hope Allwood, she mentions the fictional Instagram character Lil Miquela — "the computer-generated Instagram it-girl — has been the most talked about influencer we’ve had in years." I have always been fascinated by fictional characters and their influences on an audience, particularly their social impact. This reminds me of the Japanese holographic superstar Hatsune Miku, which the article also mentions, and the genuine stardom that "she" has attained. I find such phenomena intriguing, particularly because the use of these IRL (In Real Life) virtual constructs manages to literally hack our human nature by exploiting us in a way that leave us quite susceptible to manipulation and control of the creators by way of either overt or subtle suggestion as to the support of and promotion of the causes of the creators. Such art-forms are both pornographic (in the artistic sense i.e. Pop Art) and propaganda. Don't get me wrong, this is 2018 and we are leaping headlong into the Matrix with the research of Neural Lace interface by Elon Musk, and current advanced computer processing technologies like Intel® Nervana™ Neural Network Processor (NNP) , combined with the future of social media; and a definite trend is beginning to form. Please don't get me wrong, I appreciate the art form and recognize it for the art and science that it is. I am only pointing out the way in which it is being used on us and more importantly the fact that it is being used on us. Ironically, this is fashion.

Work Cited

https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/opinion/op-ed-the-dark-side-of-social-media?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=b862b25879-the-dark-side-of-social-media&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d2191372b3-b862b25879-424131041

Intel® Nervana™ Neural Network Processor (NNP)