'Virtual Soul': The Aesthetics of the Disembodied Being
A Conceptual and Visual Analysis of an Artificial Influencer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62161/revvisual.v18.5976Keywords:
Body, Social Media, Artificial Intelligence, Hiperreality, Aesthetics, Instagram, InfluencersAbstract
In the postdigital era, categories such as body, identity, and presence undergo a profound reconfiguration. Using the case of Aitana López, a virtual influencer created through artificial intelligence, this study explores new forms of technologically mediated existence. It analyses three key dimensions: existence as visibility, the body as an aesthetic interface devoid of lived experience, and the image as a form of ontological presence. The study also identifies a trend toward hyperreality and the aestheticization of the body, in which the artificial takes precedence over the real. The analysis follows a hermeneutic-visual approach applied to content from her Instagram profile. The visual image no longer merely represents; it acts, generates desire, interaction, and value. In this context, it becomes essential to represent the human without severing it from its embodied dimension.
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