With A.I., Anyone Can Be an Influencer

A few months ago, a forty-five-year-old homemaker living in Georgia, whom I’ll call Robin, started playing around with an A.I. image generator. Growing up, Robin had loved reading; she dabbled in writing, too, but after her first child was born, the habit faded. A.I. offered something different—a kind of world-building that allowed her to project herself into places and situations she’d never inhabited. She made a photo of herself standing outside a café in Paris, and another of herself sitting on a private jet next to a Birkin bag.