CES 2021: LG uses Virtual Influencer to Announce UV-C Robots

Well, this is horribly creepy.

The new millennium introduced the celebrity influencer who’s famous for being famous, so for the first-ever digital Consumer Electronics Show, LG thought it was a great idea to introduce a virtual influencer.

Reah Keem is a budding musician and world-traveler, with a sassy, corporate-approved attitude, a fully-functional Instagram account (with 6,000+ followers), and even a song on SoundClound (it sounds exactly like you think it would – like the underscore to a press conference).

LG announced Reah in December, and at today’s live-streamed CES keynote, she introduced the South Korean conglomerate’s line of LG CLOi UV-C robots.

As the name suggests, these robots use UV-C light to cleanse public areas – Reah seemed especially excited about that, since it would allow her to “travel” again. So, a fake media personality (who personifies the “uncanny valley”) laments being cooped up inside…because why wouldn’t a virtual influencer get cabin fever?

We previously discussed how UV-C light can be used to deactivate COVID-19, and we’ve even seen a small light fixture – the size of a smoke alarm – that spreads a 255nm UV-C emission over a 50 square-foot area.

It’s clear that ultraviolet light has a crucial role to play in fighting the coronavirus. But in an age where everything is virtual, anyway – birthday parties, weddings, funerals – a virtual influencer is a bit too real.