Blooming Talk faces backlash over AI chats with 13-year-old idol avatars

Blooming Talk, an AI-powered K-pop fan service introduced with A2O SOUL and A2O LITE, has drawn criticism after in-app listings included digital replicas of three 13-year-old members of A2O LITE. The service recreates performers’ voices and appearances, allowing users to hold personalised, real-time one-to-one video conversations with an on-screen avatar rather than the artist. Ayune, Oa and Aijing, who were born in 2013, appeared in purchase listings reported by Sports Kyunghyang on Oct. 15. Each was listed at 6,800 South Korean won. Fans’ objections have centred on the commercial use of young artists’ digital likenesses, exposure to inappropriate requests, digital impersonation and the potential for unhealthy parasocial relationships. The controversy first emerged around the A2O groups’ Oct. 12 debut showcase at KINTEX, where media were able to try an AI idol phone-call service using voice and video. Koreaboo reported that the responses were generated by AI, not supplied by the artists themselves, and that fans questioned how idols’ images and voices would be protected. ESTsoft confirmed on Oct. 15 that it had created avatars for all 24 members of A2O SOUL and A2O LITE using actual filming data. Blooming Grace developed Blooming Talk in collaboration with A2O artists’ intellectual property and service operations; ESTsoft supplies the avatar technology and Mind Logic developed the app. The available reporting does not establish that the three younger members were included without consent. It also does not provide a full account of consent arrangements for underage performers, the current moderation system, parental or guardian oversight of representations, or whether artists can withdraw permission for use of their likenesses. Earlier launch coverage said developers intended to bar sexual content, inappropriate language and requests for favours. The service is part of Lee Soo-man’s return to the Korean music industry through A2O Entertainment, after a three-year restriction on domestic entertainment activities. Lee, who left SM Entertainment in 2023 after selling his stake to HYBE, introduced Blooming Talk alongside the two groups under his “Zalpa Pop” concept, named for Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Blooming Talk is not an SM Entertainment service. A 2022 study of AI Private Call examined a paid UNIVERSE app service that simulated calls using idols’ voice data and operated from January 2021 to June 2022. In interviews with 15 K-pop fans, researchers found worries over harassment, misuse of generated voices, data rights, consent and AI-generated statements an idol might not endorse. Participants also said AI-produced intimacy could feel inauthentic because it did not come from the artist. Australia’s eSafety regulator has separately warned that AI companions can foster dependency, social withdrawal, unhealthy views of relationships, bullying, financial exploitation and heightened sexual-abuse risk when safeguards are inadequate. It says children and young people are particularly vulnerable because they are still developing critical-thinking and life skills, and has urged technology companies to apply Safety by Design principles.