Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 18 to 22.
AI influencers are becoming an increasingly visible part of online culture. Unlike human creators, they do not age, grow tired or lose control of their public image. Because they are built through digital design and managed by creative teams, these virtual personalities can post constantly, adapt quickly to trends and maintain a carefully controlled identity. Over the past few years, many brands (18)__________, but as reliable media figures capable of sustaining a consistent presence across platforms.
Their appeal lies partly in predictability. Human influencers may damage a campaign through scandal, inconsistency or public disagreement, whereas AI influencers can be adjusted almost instantly to suit a brand’s tone. Companies can also coordinate designers, writers and strategists behind such accounts, (19)__________. This gives the impression of intimacy and spontaneity, even though every element has usually been planned in advance.
Yet the rise of AI influencers has also raised broader concerns. Critics argue that they may blur the line between performance and authenticity, especially for younger audiences who already consume much of their social life through screens. The issue is not simply that these figures are artificial, but that they may normalise relationships built on simulation rather than reciprocity. That is one reason (20)__________. If audiences are encouraged to admire personalities that cannot truly respond, disagree or take responsibility, expectations of human interaction may gradually shift. In the long term, the real question may be not whether AI influencers are effective, but (21)__________. For this reason, discussions about regulation, disclosure and media literacy are becoming more urgent, (22)__________.
Question 18:
A. regard them as experimental novelties, which many brands continue to
B. which many brands have come to regard as experimental novelties
C. have come to regard them not simply as experimental novelties
D. are beginning to regard them not simply as experimental novelties
