We’ve recently been posting a lot about AI. The main reason is due to the debate about how much protection your AI-generated art has. However, Lensa has turned heads lately by using the power of Stable Diffusion to create magical avatars from your photos. It looks like celebrities are increasingly making use of this new feature.
Here’s a detailed look at what this new trending AI feature is, why celebrities like it so much, and why no one seems to be worried about privacy issues.
Lensa’s new magical avatar AI trend
Lensa has been around for a while as a mobile photo editor, but it recently added the magical avatar feature. You’ll need to pay for the service and, in return, you’ll receive a set of fantasy-themed avatars based on some of your photos.
It requires a few selfies, but it also helps if you have an image of yourself with others around you in some cases. The app uses Stable Diffuser for the AI-generated artwork, which has been working hard to protect works that include celebrities.
Celebrities are eager to use it
If you’re on most of the popular social media platforms, specifically Instagram, your feed should be full of celebrities using Lensa to make magical avatars with their faces. Some of them simply did it out of interest until it became a popular trend. Since then, we’ve been seeing more and more of them posting AI-generated images to see what their fans have to say.
And why would their fans not comment? They’ve seen their heroes as fairies, astronauts, gangsters, elves, and scantily clad as a mermaid on the beach. Celebrities no longer need to spend hours doing their makeup to have exciting photoshoots that will get millions of likes.
The different genres and themes generated by AI
While the fantasy theme seems to be the most popular type of magical avatar requests for the AI system, there are plenty of others being used. There have been a few black-and-white Noir types, with some posing as a detective like the infamous Sherlock Holmes. While celebrities find these fun, some have questioned why AI poses them in specific themes.
I had a good chuckle when Megan Fox’s avatar images appeared on my IG feed yesterday. It’s not that the photos were funny. On the contrary, they were quite stunning. However, it was her comment that had me laughing. She was asking why the AI had her posing mostly nude in the avatars. Further hilarity followed when most of her followers asked her if she had seen most of her own semi-nude photos on the platform lately.
Aren’t celebrities worried about privacy?
While this is all in the name of fun, I’m wondering how much celebrities are concerned about privacy issues. There are many deepfake accounts out there, and many are all too eager to replace heads with celebrity faces. On the top of this list is pornography or portraying celebrities in sexual positions.
Another aspect we need to consider is how much many of us actually care about our privacy. Many people and celebrities are all too eager to post about every aspect of their lives. They also create OnlyFans accounts, where they’ve willing to pose in specific ways as long as you subscribe to their accounts. They’re basically providing content for others to misuse with AI generators like Lensa.
Does that mean celebrities should stop if they care about their privacy? Not at all! I’m enjoying seeing how they look as fantasy characters, especially Sara Haro. Remember, the problem lies with the people that are abusing the fantastic AI systems that are evolving today, not with those who are using them to entertain us fans.
Those who are using AI for these stunning features need to find a way to protect its members and the art created on the apps. It’s still going to be a long debate about whether these images can have copyright protection, but at least celebrities should be able to take action if anyone misuses their profile photos for their own distorted pleasure.
Should you pay for AI avatars?
I’d like to end this AI-Lensa discussion about whether we should be paying for these magical avatar creations. Stable Diffusion is open-source, which places a big question mark on why Lensa is charging its members for sets of avatars.
Of course, they designed it in a specific way to provide a service that delivers a product. In that sense, it’s a business selling its services to you, for which they want you to pay. Hang around, though. I suspect more apps will be making more features like this for free to compete with Lensa shortly.
