Romanian AI-made singer Lolita Cercel has artists and Roma activists up in arms

Lolita Cercel, a singer created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), has gotten traction on Romanian social media in recent weeks. Still, her success has attracted criticism from artists and Roma activists.

Cercel’s seven songs gathered millions of views in around a month, and her look has received praise on Romanian TikTok. Her persona was created by a young man who presents himself as Tom, and claims to have written the lyrics, while the AI generates the music and accompanying videos according to his prompts.

In a feature on Scena9, the creator of Lolita Cercel said he was inspired by his work in the design field but refused to disclose more.

“The secrecy around me is not a whim, but a conceptual necessity. In a world oversaturated with personal brands and artist egos, I wanted Lolita to be the only one that matters. If I stepped forward, the magic would dilute. I’m just the architect behind it; Lolita is the star,” he told the journalists.

On the other side are artists who say they work for years for visibility and originality and who consider that music generated by artificial intelligence represents an unethical territory.

“There are record labels, producers, and artists who choose this AI shortcut, and unfortunately, such songs go viral or even end up on the radio. It is sad for independent artists who struggle to do everything from scratch,” said Paulina, a singer.

Roma activist Alexandra Fin also drew attention to the way Roma cultural identity is being used in this context. Cercel, whose music is presented as a fusion between Balkan nostalgia and “the synthetic future,” looks Roma, and her music heavily draws from the community’s music.

Fin said the Lolita project “represents an exploitation and instrumentalization of Roma culture. It is intentionally racialized, both through physical appearance and references to Roma spiritual practices [...]. It is deeply inhuman for a marginalized identity/culture to be used to generate profit through a virtual artist.”

Critics say Lolita Cercel should be blocked on TikTok and other social media as a form of protest against this type of content. Others are not so clear-cut in their opinions.

“I really like it a lot. But what does that say about the direction we’re heading in? Is AI replacing us completely, and what will remain of our humanity, what will remain of us?” said one commentator in Cercel’s most-watched video on YouTube.

“Lolita may be a digital character, and the final product may also be digital, but the guidance for something this cool is clearly human and experienced. Many people use AI to produce, but few manage to produce something good. The collaboration between humans and AI should be like this: AI should extend human experience,” said another listener.