Jordi Van Den Bussche, also known as Kwebbelkop, discusses his latest video that utilizes an AI model to replicate his physical presence. However, the question remains: will fans still be interested in an AI clone?Jordi Van Den Bussche, a popular gaming YouTuber known as Kwebbelkop, has started creating videos with the assistance of artificial intelligence. Previously, Jordi dedicated every waking hour to building his social media presence. As Kwebbelkop, he would tirelessly work on his YouTube channel, generating video ideas, filming, and promoting them. Simultaneously, he would seek brand deals and engage in other essential tasks to sustain himself on the platform. However, about five years ago, he encountered a problem. "Whenever I wanted to take a vacation or simply have some personal time, I couldn't because my entire business depended on me, " he explains. This issue, commonly referred to as the "key person problem, " meant that without Van Den Bussche's on-camera presence, the entire Kwebbelkop enterprise would come to a halt. He was too occupied with creating videos to consider scaling his business, and too exhausted to continue producing content. He yearned for a break, and around 2018, like many other YouTubers, he experienced severe burnout. This burnout sparked a change in Van Den Bussche's mindset. He began contemplating what would be beneficial for him and the creator industry, which often exploits individuals until they reach their breaking point and then moves on to the next aspiring star. He devised a solution: a series of AI tools designed to create and upload videos with minimal involvement from him. "I'm retired from being an influencer, " he declares. "I've had a wonderful career, enjoyed myself immensely, but now I want to take things to the next level. That means ensuring this brand lives on indefinitely. " Van Den Bussche's AI influencer platform, which recently launched after much anticipation on Twitter, is his attempt to achieve that goal. It comprises two AI tools. The first is trained on a creator's appearance, on-camera performances, and speech in videos, and is employed to generate new content. This tool bears some resemblance to Forever Voices, the controversial AI tool used by the virtual influencer CarynAI to maintain fan interactions on behalf of creators. The second tool aims to simplify the content creation process by utilizing basic prompts, such as "transform this article into a video resembling an interview with two individuals, " and producing the final product. (This second tool is similar to the QuickVid tool, which has gained early adoption. ) Van Den Bussche is reluctant to divulge many details about how these tools were developed, but regardless of their origins, their introduction coincides with a critical period for generative AI and its impact on the way people work. Furthermore, Van Den Bussche's approach may have long-lasting consequences for YouTube creators and the wider industry. The ideas behind these AI tools took years to form. Prior to their creation, Van Den Bussche established a coaching business where he shared his blueprint for social media success with aspiring influencers.

It was during this process that he developed a protocol for becoming a prominent creator. However, even his protégés eventually required time off, leading Van Den Bussche to realize that the fundamental flaw in the creator economy was its reliance on humans. "In this industry, it's like you're starting a company that solely depends on one person's ability to perform, " he explains. "And that is an absolutely terrible business model with a disproportionately high level of risk. " Van Den Bussche and his creative team commenced attempting to reverse-engineer the key factors contributing to the success of creators. "We conducted numerous tests and experiments, " he says. "We sought evidence of how much the voice, face, and content influence the audience's response. " In April 2021, Van Den Bussche launched a YouTube channel featuring a virtual YouTuber (or 'vtuber') named Bloo, whom he developed and powered by AI technology. Since its launch, Bloo has gained 775, 000 subscribers, with each video attracting tens or hundreds of thousands of viewers. "Bloo is a fully virtual influencer with a protocol, a series of predefined steps, and a multitude of AI and machine learning applications integrated into the system, " he explains. "Now we are applying that model to my intellectual property and that of my friends. It includes voice cloning, so the virtual creator sounds like me. " The Kwebbelkop videos generated by AI, the first of which appeared on Tuesday, are created using models trained on Van Den Bussche's existing content. "It emulates my creativity and input, " he says. "Many people believe that I'm retiring as a creator and leaving the AI to run the show, but that's not the case. I'm not retiring from being creative. " Though he is not retiring, Van Den Bussche is content to replace himself in the creative process with the AI technology he has been developing. "We have seen a lot of successful outcomes with these systems, " he asserts. "I have complete confidence that they can replicate creativity to such an extent that I am willing to stake my entire business on them. " As of now, the AI video he released on Tuesday has garnered nearly 3, 000 views. Van Den Bussche claims to have a waitlist of 500 influencer friends within the industry who are eager to adopt his AI tools. However, he cannot provide them with access until the cost of creating new videos becomes more affordable, which he believes will happen as technology advances. "This presents a completely new option for creators to effectively clone themselves and continue without worrying about aging, gaining weight, or undergoing any other changes that could alienate certain segments of their audience, " says Lia Haberman, an expert in influencer marketing and a UCLA instructor. However, Haberman is not entirely convinced that audiences will readily embrace AI-generated creators as much as the creators themselves do. Their appeal lies in their humanity and their ability to establish a pseudo-relationship with their audience, where people either relate to or aspire to become them, she explains. "A virtual influencer will only ever be seen as entertainment, at least until we reach the point of sentient beings. " Nevertheless, Van Den Bussche hopes that by introducing this technology, it will encourage those who stepped away from online video due to the stresses involved. "Right now, that's our primary focus, " he says. "We're targeting people who already have an established brand and want to continue it. But they encounter a human problem similar to the one we faced. Every retired YouTuber and influencer has experienced this challenge, " he concludes.