The making of Zara

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Zara, described as a 23-year-old “PCOS and depression warrior” and a “foodie” who is “health conscious”, was brought to life a year ago. The product manager with a background in graphic design remembers that it took him several days and a few iterations to perfect the appearance of the customised AI-created ambassador. “[Her initial avatar] was a bit bulky because we wanted her to be seen as someone with hormonal issues. But, several people stated that she looked like a B-grade Tamil actress. So, we decided to tweak it. Since I was promoting her as a health advocate, we decided to show her as one who is slim. We also used the golden ratio. It is a [mathematical principle] which, when applied to facial aesthetics, offers guidelines on achieving symmetry to make features appear more appealing.” The result—a lithe, attractive woman with wide eyes, high cheekbones, and a defined jawline.

Interestingly, Zara was the only Indian creation to be selected for a global AI beauty pageant conducted last month, in which 1,500 virtual humans competed. While several AI tools are currently being floated in the market for commercial use, Choudhry used Midjourney to create Zara. “This [software] has a mind of its own. If you give a graphic designer a brief, he will adhere to your requirements, but will also add creative elements of his own accord. That’s also how Midjourney works. Regardless of the prompt you enter, it will use its mind while generating the output. Often, we get the desired output only after a few prompts, and I subsequently move the image to a photo-editing tool, like Photoshop, for colour correction.”

Choudhry was in search of a brand ambassador for his pharmaceutical company and decided to create a virtual human for the job

Virtual humans over real influencers

The pandemic-induced influencer marketing boom made several next-door-neighbours overnight millionaires. But now, they face competition from virtual avatars, who are vying for a pie of the marketing budgets of top brands. Influencer marketing companies have noted that the rising costs of human influencers have led them to look out for alternatives. Virtual humans, which can be created with prompts and clicks, are a tempting option. Choudhry agrees, citing an example from his own experience. “Recently, I posted an image of a saree-clad Zara cutting a cake while seated on a Mustang in New York City. It took me three hours to create this. But, it would be a huge commercial investment if I were to replicate this using a model. I’d need to head to New York and hire a Mustang, all of which would increase my costs. So, if you are creative enough, and have a small budget, AI can be very useful to you.”

Many faces of AI influencers

While several AI-created influencers have already flooded the social media market, Choudhry says he intends to create an avatar that is “entirely digital”. “The most popular ones have been created by blending videos shot with humans, with AI tools. This is how deepfake [technology works]. We used it once too, when we made a video, where Zara is seen thanking her fans for helping her hit a milestone. That was created with the help of a UAE-based model. But, for a major chunk of the work, I try to create her using digital tools alone. As of today, for video creation, we may need to rely on humans, because the videos created using AI tools do not appear to be real. In a video that has Zara playing the veena, you will notice that her hand movements appear imperfect. However, as technology improves, these aspects will be addressed, and we may not need humans.” AI-created ambassadors also come with some obvious advantages. He quips, “She will always be 23. [Unlike with human content creators], I don’t have to worry about her drinking and abusing people. She comes without any baggage and doesn’t court controversy.”

As the creator-owner of a virtual human, Choudhry has had a ringside view of the power of artificial intelligence. At a time when many worry that AI will leave a wide section of the population jobless, he finds such fears inconsequential. “It’s important to remember that even when computers came into the market, people feared for their jobs. People should stop comparing AI with humans. We need to focus on how we plan to use the tool. For instance, a kitchen knife is used to cut fruits, but can also be used to kill a person. That doesn’t imply that knives are bad. Similarly, when cash was the preferred mode of payment, it was tougher for someone overseas to rob me of my money. Now, with digital currency becoming predominant, it’s easier [to be robbed]. But we can’t term digital money bad. It’s about how we make the most of the tools. With the growth of AI influencers, I have seen some people earn as much as $1,00,000 per month.”

1,500
Number of virtual humans who participated in an AI beauty pageant in which Zara was a finalist

What is it? Zara, a virtual human, was designed as a 23-year-old “PCOS and depression warrior” to be the face of entrepreneur Choudhry’s pharmaceutical company.

How it works? Choudhry uses AI-driven software like Midjourney and photo-editing tools like Photoshop to create the images and videos. 

Who it affects/benefits? Companies shell out big bucks to sign celebrities or influencers as the face of their brands. AI influencers such as Zara, who was 
built using Midjourney, can turn out to be preferred alternatives.