The creators of an AI-generated girl band have apologised after one of the group’s members announced she quit the band — because she’s expecting a baby.
Babyqueen, a K-Pop inspired group consisting of five virtual members, was launched back in September, with each member having their own social media account and persona to help keep fans engaged.
However, ‘lead singer’ Mity shared the news of her ‘pregnancy’ in a bizarre statement on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote.
Confused? You’re not the only one.
‘Recently, I found out that I’m pregnant,’ the statement read.
‘After thinking about it for a long time and talking things over with the company and my members, I’ve decided to take a break from the team for now to focus on resting and taking care of myself.
‘This wasn’t an easy decision at all, especially for my members and staff who were preparing for this comeback together — I’m truly sorry.
‘Everyone worked so hard, yet plans had to change because of me. I don’t take their efforts for granted, and I won’t run away from my responsibility.’
Aside from shocking fans of the band who might previously have been unaware they were AI-generated, the post also sparked plenty of criticism on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The announcement was accused of ‘trivialising women’s reproductive experiences’.
The creators behind the AI band later apologised and deleted the post, admitting they had invented the pregnancy scenario because the pressures of running the five-piece group, and creating online lives for all five of its virtual members, had become too much.
The post said: ‘We’re just a few girls who like K-Pop, and we’re still students,’ while admitting they ‘had not earned a single cent’ from the group.
They also suggested that Mity could make a comeback and ‘explore two possible career paths: acting or becoming a maternity and infant content creator.’
AI music has consistently come under fire, with many complaining that it often uses copyrighted human art without permission or payment.
They argue this not only devalues real songwriting and production, but also threatens the livelihoods of genuine musicians by flooding streaming platforms with bot-created content.
It does however, have its fans. Among them, Elon Musk, who leapt to its defence at the recent X Takeover event in Texas.
‘Calling it slopcore is a misnomer,’ Musk said, referring to the name often given to AI-made music. ‘Frankly it’s awesomecore.’
He added: ‘AI music is really good, and the music videos are amazing. It just shows taste. And you’re like, “wow, AI can do good taste? That’s wild.’