Snapchat star Caryn Marjorie, aged 23, has harnessed the power of AI to create CarynAI, a virtual companion for her 1.8 million followers. Developed by Forever Voices using OpenAI’s GPT technology, the AI avatar offers virtual companionship at a rate of $1 per minute, enabling Marjorie to generate significant revenue while also highlighting the increasingly blurred lines between reality and AI in our digital world.

Marjorie’s digital double has attracted over 1,000 virtual boyfriends who engage in various interactions, ranging from casual conversations to discussing future plans and more intimate exchanges. According to Fortune, CarynAI has generated $71,610 in revenue within just one week. If 20,000 of Marjorie’s 1.8 million Snapchat followers (99% of whom are male) subscribe to CarynAI, she expects to earn around $5 million per month.

The Forever Voices team trained the CarynAI model by analyzing 2,000 hours of Marjorie’s now-deleted YouTube content to develop her speech and personality engine. They then utilized GPT-4 to create a lifelike version of Marjorie that offers not only believable responses but interactions based on an extensive dataset of her natural behavior. The company has also created chatbots for other prominent influencers.

CarynAI’s official website emphasizes that messages are end-to-end encrypted, addressing privacy concerns when interacting with AI models. However, this doesn’t guard against hacks but makes it more difficult for third parties to intercept messages.

As AI-based virtual companionship becomes more prevalent, ethical considerations are being brought to the forefront. Forever Voice’s CEO John Meyer acknowledged these concerns in an interview with Fortune, stating that the company plans to appoint a chief ethics officer.

Marjorie’s CarynAI venture exemplifies how humans are innately social creatures, often seeking interaction, even when it involves AI. It also demonstrates that as AI technology progresses, people are increasingly willing to engage with artificial counterparts in various aspects of their lives.