Entries for this pioneering competition will be evaluated on their ‘authentic narrative’ and the precise anatomical accuracy of their virtual subjects, specifically the correct number of fingers.
Following the emergence of AI beauty pageants and music contests, the latest development in the burgeoning AI influencer economy is the introduction of an award for AI Personality of the Year. This initiative marks an inevitable progression as the sector evolves from a novel curiosity into a substantial and profitable industry.
The competition, a collaborative effort between generative AI studio OpenArt and AI-powered creator platform Fanvue, with support from AI voice company ElevenLabs, commenced on Monday and will run for one month. Organizers state its purpose is to “celebrate the creative talent ‘behind’ AI Influencers” and acknowledge their increasing commercial and cultural influence.
Contestants will vie for a total prize fund of $20,000, distributed among an overall winner and champions in specific categories including fitness, lifestyle, comedian, music and dance entertainer, and fictional cartoon, anime, or fantasy personality. The victors will be honored at a May event, which the organizers are calling the “‘Oscars’ for AI personalities.”
To participate, creators must develop their AI influencer on OpenArt’s platform and submit it via www.AIpersonality.ai. The application requires social media handles across TikTok, X, YouTube, and Instagram, alongside the character's backstory, the creator's motivations, and any details regarding brand collaborations.
The judging panel includes notable figures such as 13-time Emmy-winning comedy writer Gil Rief, the creators of the Spanish AI model Aitana Lopez, and Christopher “Topher” Townsend, the MAGA rapper behind the AI-generated gospel singer Solomon Ray. According to a judges’ briefing reviewed by The Verge, contestants will be scored on four primary criteria: quality, social clout, brand appeal, and the inspiration behind the avatar. Specific evaluation points include consistent engagement with followers, a uniform visual presentation across social channels, accurate physical details like the “right number of fingers and thumbs,” and the presence of “an authentic narrative” driving the avatar.
The contest welcomes both established creators and newcomers, though existing AI influencers are still required to submit content generated on OpenArt’s platform, as confirmed by Matt Jones, head of brand at Fanvue, in an interview with The Verge.
Despite the contest’s aim to celebrate the creators of virtual influencers, Jones noted that entrants are not obligated to publicly disclose their identities. He explained, “If a person who created this amazing piece of work wants nothing to do with the press or to expose themselves or to have their name out there, that’s obviously fine. There would be no need to thrust anybody into the limelight here. We would just celebrate the piece of work.”
This provision for creator anonymity raises questions in a contest emphasizing authenticity, particularly within an AI influencer ecosystem founded on fabricated individuals, personas, and backstories. Such anonymity has also facilitated instances of deception with limited accountability, from the AI white nationalist rapper Danny Bones to the MAGA fantasy girl Jessica Foster.
Furthermore, the initiative faces familiar challenges, including ongoing debates about originality, the potential for AI-generated work or likenesses to be derived from real creators without consent, and whether these tools merely replicate existing biases in a synthetic format. Fanvue, the organizer, has previously encountered criticism on this front; in 2024, a Guardian columnist described its “Miss AI” beauty pageant as consolidating “every toxic gendered beauty norm and bundl[ing] them up into a completely unrealistic package.”
However, Fanvue’s Jones maintains that creators inherently infuse a part of themselves into the AI characters they develop. He remarked, “You can’t help but put a little bit of yourself into the stories that you tell and the characters that you make,” encouraging creators to “lean into that.” This concept aligns well with the broader influencer economy, which often operates on a form of synthetic authenticity that the internet has become adept at navigating.
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