Virtual Real-Person
Credit: Nicolas Santoianni, Dom Hill, Luxi Ye
In 1990, I read a manga where a virtual singer was introduced in Algo! by Ogino Makoto.
Her name is Mayu and was built to be the most charming thing so that people would pay for anything she promotes. Her program even includes emotions and of course, is erasable. Her entire existence was manipulated so then the protagonist, who’s a knight in the computer world busted a Ready Player One and saved her. That was the time when heroes are predominantly male and the plot isn’t so off-putting then.
In 2007, Hastune Miku was born. She’s a Japanese Vocaloid with a voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media. Miku not only sang at concerts, modeled for cars, but also did an opera sporting Louis Vuitton. The Vocaloid opera was directed by Toshiki Okada, titled The End, 2013. In this event that happened at Theatre du Chatelet Opera House, Paris, she explored deep subjects around life and death as a robot. It featured no human singers.
Facebook Followers: 2.4M, 2022
Age: 16
Then Lil Miquela happened in 2016. She’s an American CGI influencer created by Trevor McFedries and Sara DeCou. Miquela lives a poppin’ virtual lifestyle. At work, she speaks for a variety of streetwear and luxury brands.
Instagram Followers: 3M, 2022
Age: 19
So if even a robot has existential crisis,
