AI Influencers and The Dangers of a Filtered Reality

TL;DR

Your social media feed, including the comments, is a personalized reality designed by algorithms. This, combined with the rise of AI influencers, is blurring the line between authentic and artificial, pushing us to seek real-world experiences. #VentureStep #AI #FilterBubble

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever scrolled through social media comments and felt like everyone suddenly agrees with you? ¹Or noticed that the content you see reinforces your existing worldview with unnerving accuracy? ²This isn't a coincidence; it's the result of sophisticated algorithms creating a personalized "filter bubble" for every user, shaping not just what we see, but how we perceive the truth. ³³This digital echo chamber is becoming more powerful, raising critical questions about connection, reality, and manipulation. ⁴⁴

In this episode of Venture Step, host Dalton Anderson dives deep into the unsettling evolution of our digital world. Spurred by a shockingly realistic AI-generated version of his own voice, Dalton conducted a series of experiments to uncover the hidden mechanics of social media. 5555555He shares his first-hand findings on how platforms like TikTok and Instagram are now personalizing comment sections, effectively showing different users different versions of the same conversation. 6666

Dalton explores the profound implications of this trend, from the disturbing rise of hyper-realistic AI influencers who are landing deals with major brands like Calvin Klein and KFC, to the growing societal fatigue with inauthentic online interactions. ^7777777The conversation culminates in a look at the counter-movement: a powerful shift away from digital noise and toward genuine, shared experiences, signaling a future where authenticity may become our most valued currency. ⁸⁸

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Social media platforms now personalize comment sections, meaning two people viewing the same post can see a completely different order of comments tailored to their presumed opinions. ⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹
• The rise of hyper-realistic AI influencers is creating unattainable standards of perfection and blurring the lines between human and machine, making it difficult for users to know if they are interacting with a real person. ¹⁰¹⁰¹⁰
• Major brands are increasingly using AI influencers because they offer complete control over messaging, branding, and appearance, eliminating the risks associated with human personalities. ¹¹
• Growing digital fatigue and a craving for authenticity are fueling a shift toward "experience marketing," where brands foster real-world connections through events like run clubs and interactive campaigns. ^1212121212

FULL CONVERSATION

Dalton: Welcome to the Venture Step podcast, where we discuss entrepreneurship, industry trends, and the occasional book review. ¹³ Algorithms are becoming more sophisticated. They're not just recommending what product to buy, but they're shaping our worldview. ¹⁴Ever notice how social media comments seem to be tailored to your opinions? ¹⁵Or how AI voices are becoming more indistinguishable from real people? ¹⁶ It's not just about convenience anymore. It's about the very nature of connection, truth, and even fame. ¹⁷ Today we'll be discussing the rise of filter bubbles. They've been around for a bit, but I think the impact is increasing. ¹⁸

The AI Voice Experiment That Inspired This Episode

Dalton: I’ll provide some perspective from my personal experience after doing some experiments over the last week, the disturbing reality of AI influencers, and how that's going to be impacting our lives. ¹⁹Then we’ll discuss the potential shift from online connection to shared experiences. ²⁰We're seeing some of that and I'll provide some examples. ²¹

Dalton: One of the main reasons I wanted to do this episode was that the platform I use to record, called Riverside, has an AI voice feature that uses your audio from past episodes. ²²You can generate an AI voice that mimics you—your unique voice, your pauses, all of it. ²³ The original one that I did weeks ago sounded really close to me. I showed my Nana and she thought I was just talking. When I told her it was AI, she started freaking out because it wasn't me, but it sounded just like me. ^24242424

Dalton: The idea for this episode was to have the AI talk for a couple of minutes and then I would come in and talk about how concerning it is. ²⁵It was going to be my AI voice talking for the first couple of minutes without you knowing. ²⁶You might think it sounds a little different, but it's pretty close. ²⁷Unfortunately, I recorded my last two episodes with my laptop instead of my mic, so the voice output changed substantially and it sounded way too off. ^28282828But I promise, the first one was pretty good. ²⁹So that's why we're doing this episode. ³⁰

Understanding the "Bubble Effect": Network vs. Personalized Algorithms

Dalton: So we're going to talk about the bubble effect, which is also known as an echo chamber. ³¹It's trending a little bit more now with TikTok, which was the first social media platform where everything is generated by an algorithm instead of a network algorithm. ³²The network algorithm is where I follow you, you follow a couple of people, and the platform links it back to what I might like because the people you follow, I might also like since we're friends. ³³

With TikTok, it was more of a personalized algorithm where it was able to suggest hundreds of millions of posts that you would potentially like with heightened accuracy. ³⁴

Dalton: That’s why people say to give it a couple of weeks and the algorithm will get in tune with you. ³⁵Instagram switched over to that algorithm. ³⁶If you're familiar with social media, there's been news saying hashtags no longer matter because everything is built by the algorithm. ³⁷The way Instagram works now is it will suggest a post to maybe 5% of your followers. ³⁸If that goes well, it shows it to another 10%, and after it passes a couple of tests, it sends it out to the explore page where other people can find it. ³⁹

Are Your Social Media Comments Being Manipulated?

Dalton: With this highly personalized algorithm, the comments are also personalized on TikTok and to some extent on Instagram. ⁴⁰ This is different than the echo chamber we are accustomed to. The old echo chamber was if you're following a conservative or liberal account, you'll get that content, and because you agree with it, it will suggest other content you agree with. ⁴¹The algorithm doesn't necessarily know what the content is, just that you like it. ⁴²

Dalton: What I don't agree with is comments being shifted around depending on who's viewing the posts. ⁴³I did a test with about 20 posts on TikTok and Instagram with a woman of a similar age. ⁴⁴She would send me screenshots of the first nine or so comments, and I would send her mine. ⁴⁵The top three to six comments were pretty much always different. ⁴⁶I could eventually find her top comment deep down in the comment thread, but normal people are not scrolling through all the comments. ⁴⁷

Dalton: People are viewing comments to get perspective on political or relationship issues, and the comments are different. ⁴⁸She sent me one post where her comments were saying things like, "such a great leader, he's brave for saying these things." ⁴⁹My comments for the same post said, "this person's old, delirious, doesn't know what they're talking about." ⁵⁰I was confused by such a difference in perception. ⁵¹

How do you know that you're not being manipulated if they're altering the order of the comments? ⁵²

Dalton: To be fair, there was one post that had the exact same comments in the same order. ⁵³But it's super concerning that we're using social media to share news, and if your comment is the top comment on my profile, it doesn't mean it will be the top comment on someone else's. ^54545454 They might see something completely different. Your comment is still there, but it might be buried because the algorithm thinks it's not relevant to them. ⁵⁵I don't think social media companies should be switching the order of the comments. ⁵⁶

The Dangers of a Singular, Personalized Reality

Dalton: It starts with comments and posts. ⁵⁷ Next thing you know, it's going to be all your apps. You might have personalized podcasts where you get my point of view, but another listener of the same podcast might get something different because things can be generated by AI on the fly. ⁵⁸ How do you know what is real? My concern is that things are becoming blurred.

Your reality isn't necessarily a reality of others. You have your own singular personalized reality, which gives you a blind perspective on what things really are. ⁵⁹

Dalton: You don't really know what's going on. You know what you know based on what you're given. 60And if you're spoon-fed information that's relatable to you, how do you learn other people's perspectives? 61It’s tough for me to wrap my head around why we're doing it. 62No wonder there's such a big divide with political ideologies and relationship issues, because you're not getting the same perspective as other people. 63636363You're not getting a blended approach, and the blended approach is what makes you wise. 64 Before you know it, all these jokes about living in a simulation become legitimate. We're living in a simulation where everything is personalized to you and you don't have any genuine experiences anymore. 65

The Disturbing Rise of AI Influencers

Dalton: Speaking of realities, let’s talk about AI influencers. ⁶⁶I was looking up examples, and I legitimately had to step away from the computer and take a walk outside because I thought it was so disgusting. ⁶⁷It really grosses me out. ⁶⁸It makes me uncomfortable about the reality my kids are going to grow up with if this becomes prevalent. ⁶⁹

The damage on someone's perspective of who they are and who they could be is devastating when these posts are getting 30,000 likes. ⁷⁰

Dalton: And you wouldn't know it's AI unless you read the bio. ⁷¹If you just see a suggested post, you have no idea. ⁷²You can't tell that this is not a real human. ⁷³They're doing normal things like eating food, doing their hair, driving, thirst traps, artsy stuff, even signing contracts like a "boss babe." ⁷⁴The whole thing is just disgusting and it really freaks me out. ⁷⁵One of them has 2.5 million followers. ⁷⁶This is not a niche thing. ⁷⁷

Dalton: It's hard for me to put into words how gross this is and what it will be in 10 years when things get even more advanced. ⁷⁸It's already difficult for me to tell this isn't a real person. ⁷⁹There are different types: a Scandinavian "robot queen," an emo/streetwear bot with face tattoos, a high fashion model, and a Japanese anime-style one. ⁸⁰You can't tell they're not real, which is concerning because we're at the very beginning of all this. ^81818181

Why Brands Are Embracing Virtual Models

Dalton: This AI stuff is no good. And these AI models are getting a platform from businesses like KFC, Calvin Klein, Prada, and Samsung. ⁸²

The reason why brands are all in on this is because they get control. And that's what it's about, it's control. ⁸³

Dalton: They set it up, these "people" exist forever. ⁸⁴ Brands don't have problems with them getting canceled. They control the messaging, the branding, what they wear, how they look, what they do, and who they interact with. ⁸⁵It gives them 24/7 availability to tailor to their audience. ⁸⁶When you put it that way, it's almost like a digital slave. ⁸⁷

Dalton: The problem is the lack of transparency. It's only in their bio, but people just scroll, like the post, and move on, not knowing it's an AI. 88888888So they're comparing themselves to this AI-fabricated persona that's not even real. 89 Where is the authenticity? How can I connect to you and see a piece of myself in you when you aren't even you? 90It's a manipulation tactic, in my opinion. 91It messes with the human effect of connection when you're blurring the lines between what is AI and what is human. 92

Digital Fatigue and the Future of Online Interaction

Dalton: As AI becomes more sophisticated, these influencers will become more realistic and engaging. ⁹³They might get integrated into augmented reality and play a significant role in the metaverse. ⁹⁴I hope that if Meta does this, they do it in the right way—to be helpful, like a virtual math teacher, not to sell a perfect, sponsored persona pretending to be human. ⁹⁵

Dalton: I think with the increase of AI in our daily lives, we'll get fatigue from the online interaction and information overload. ⁹⁶It's going to become more overwhelming than it is now because it's easier to create content than ever. ⁹⁷On top of that, everyone is going to appear like an expert on everything. ⁹⁸

It's just everything is going to be so curated and generated and not authentic... which seems just like a boring, boring ordeal. ⁹⁹

Dalton: If most people appear close to perfect, it encourages us to present idolized versions of ourselves, creating pressure to maintain a perfect online image that feels exhausting and inauthentic. ¹⁰⁰

The Shift From Online Connection to Shared Experiences

Dalton: So where do we go from here? ¹⁰¹I think something's got to give. ¹⁰²I think people will search for real-life connections and experiences. ¹⁰³Things like offline hobbies, digital detoxes, and spending time in nature. ¹⁰⁴ What's been super popular lately? Run clubs. ¹⁰⁵ They are really popping off right now. Diplo has a run club; there’s a popular one in Austin called the Raw Dog Run Club. ¹⁰⁶

Dalton: This ties into experience marketing. Diplo does a run with everyone who signs up, and then he DJs a set for two hours afterward—he’s a beast. 107People are increasingly wanting to be outside, step away from social media, and connect with people in person. 108You run, and then you get beers or food and socialize in person. 109Crazy, right? 110110

Dalton: Other examples include Red Bull’s Stratos event, IKEA's AR Place app that lets you put virtual furniture in your house, and the Coca-Cola "Share a Coke" campaign. ^111111111111These things increase brand awareness, build stronger emotional connections, and have higher conversion rates. ¹¹²I think we'll be prioritizing transparency, authenticity, and real-world experiences where people can make memories. ^113113113113

A Call to Prioritize Authenticity

Dalton: The only thing I would ask is to think critically about the information you're given. ¹¹⁴ Am I getting the whole perspective? Am I only seeing things that are related to me? ¹¹⁵And what do you think about the AI influencers? ¹¹⁶For me, I don't agree with it at all. ¹¹⁷ I don't want to interact with a curated AI agent; I want human beings first and foremost in marketing campaigns. ¹¹⁸

Dalton: What are your thoughts about that? Do you also feel like things are moving more into experience marketing versus normal social media marketing? 119I would encourage everyone listening to this show to please push back on brands using AI influencers. 120Now that I know KFC uses them, maybe I'll let them know I won't eat their chicken because of this. 121 Let me know how you feel. Maybe you could change my perspective, but right now, it makes me sick to my stomach. 122

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Riverside
• TikTok
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Lost in a Good Book
• Diplo
• Raw Dog Run Club
• Red Bull
• IKEA Place App
• Coca-Cola
• KFC
• Calvin Klein
• Prada
• Samsung
• Meta

INDEX OF CONCEPTS

AI influencers, algorithms, Apple Podcasts, augmented reality, Calvin Klein, Coca-Cola, Diplo, digital detox, digital fatigue, echo chambers, experience marketing, filter bubble, IKEA Place App, Instagram, KFC, Lost in a Good Book, Meta, metaverse, network algorithm, personalized algorithms, Prada, Raw Dog Run Club, Red Bull, Riverside, Samsung, social media, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube