Mity, a member of the AI-generated girl group BabyQueen, has announced her pregnancy and temporary departure from the band, leaving fans of the digitally created act stunned.
In a post on Chinese social media site Weibo, Mity explained that she felt "guilty" for the "personal circumstances" leading to her exit and wanted "to apologise" to those who felt "worried and disappointed". She wrote: "It is with a very heavy heart that I share this news with you. I recently found out that I am pregnant. After a long period of consideration and thorough discussions with the company and the other members, I have decided to temporarily leave the group to focus on my pregnancy and recovery."
Fans React to the News
The other four members of the band are called Hyeina, Kim Nawon, Youngxi and Jocee. Mity, whose hits include Bang Bang and Next Level, remarked that leaving the group was "not an easy decision", but that she had to "put my health and this new life first".
Fans were left upset by the decision, with one writing on social media that she had followed the AI group specifically to avoid the heartbreak of members leaving. She wrote: "Wait I can't understand! Are these words even real? So now even AI can take maternity leave and have scandals."
Speculation Over the Father
Mity did not say who the father was. Many saw the funny side of the singing bot going rogue and announcing her pregnancy, with speculation focusing on who the father might be. Several users pointed the finger at other AI chatbots, with one writing: "Who's the father? Chat GPT?", while another added "Is the server the baby's dad?".
Others joked about what might happen when the fake baby is due, with one poster suggesting she may "give birth to a robot".
BabyQueen's Popularity in China
Despite not breaking into the Western market, AI girl group BabyQueen are a big deal in China, with the post announcing Mity's quitting being viewed around 80 million times.
All five of the band's singers are entirely artificially generated, as is the music they release and any social media activity they post. They are believed to be the creation of a group of female students in China, whose love of Korean pop music pushed them into making their own bespoke band.
In a post on Weibo made after the recent pregnancy controversy, one of the creators labelled Mity's actions as "inappropriate", but admitted that her departure was no bad thing as it had "become difficult to manage" all five of the band's members.
