Your Bias is a Robot?!
Aespa “Black Mamba”
H
ave you ever dreamed about what it would be like hanging out with your favorite band? Or what it would be like having them play at your own private concert? Well, it seems the largest K-Pop entertainment company in South Korea is providing a way for these dreams to be fulfilled in a VERY unusual manner. Lee So-Man, the founder of SM Entertainment, recently revealed his latest project: aespa & æspa. aespa is a new girl group that consists of four virtual and four human members. The virtual members share both the names and appearances of their real life counterparts, but they have more computerized voices. What is most notable about this new creation is that the human members are able to dance simultaneously with their avatars; this creates a shocking visual. So, how has the world of artificial intelligence found itself infiltrating the world of K-Pop? Lee So-Man claims that this shift towards AI is part of the next industrial revolution, citing COVID-19, various diseases, climate change, and more as the reasons why AI was created in the first place. He argues that its overall power and necessity will drive into all industries, including entertainment. In his defense, many technological advancements have already been incorporated into business
20 ASIAN OUTLOOK
By Justin Roman
