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Business / Perth, WA

Bindi Raye lives the ultimate FIFO lifestyle online. None of it is real

ABC News (Business)
4 min read Rewritten in plain language

Artificial intelligenceSex WorkSocial media

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  • To her more than 80,000 followers, Bindi Raye's life has all the familiar elements and relatable hobbies of a young fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) mining worker.
  • Bindi Raye's carefully curated Instagram feed, which is not sign-posted as being AI-generated, presents an idealised version of WA's FIFO lifestyle, including the ultimate off-swing life.
  • The Instagram account directs keen followers to a pay-walled Bindi Raye account on the subscription platform Fanvue.
  • Fanvue head of trust and safety Rob Haywood confirmed Bindi Raye was an AI creator, and said about 75 per cent of its creators used at least one AI tool.
  • While there's no indication that the Bindi Raye profiles use stolen images, Jenna Love from Australia's peak body for sex workers, the Scarlet Alliance, said the use of generative AI to manipulate and repurpose pornography made by real creators was both stealing and abuse.

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Bindi Raye's carefully curated Instagram feed presents an idealised version of WA's FIFO lifestyle, including the ultimate off-swing life. There's more at play here than social media influence.

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To her more than 80,000 followers, Bindi Raye's life has all the familiar elements and relatable hobbies of a young fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) mining worker.

When she is not on site commenting on the quality of the food served up at the mess hall, she is an avid West Coast Eagles supporter going to the football, or soaking up the sun on Perth's Cottesloe Beach.

There is just one problem: Bindi Raye does not exist.

Her face, voice and online persona are a generative AI fabrication.

Bindi Raye's carefully curated Instagram feed, which is not sign-posted as being AI-generated, presents an idealised version of WA's FIFO lifestyle, including the ultimate off-swing life.

From tackling Far North Queensland's Gunshot Creek in her 4WD, to swimming at Galvans Gorge in WA's Kimberley, to getting wine with the girls in Perth, or even hiking Bluff Knoll in the Great Southern, travel appears to be a passion.

But there's more at play here than social media influence.

The Instagram account directs keen followers to a pay-walled Bindi Raye account on the subscription platform Fanvue.

A small AI label is displayed there and AI is also mentioned in the description.

Fanvue subscribers can pay up to $115 for Bindi Raye's pornographic videos, plus $9.24 a month for an ongoing subscription.

Fanvue head of trust and safety Rob Haywood confirmed Bindi Raye was an AI creator, and said about 75 per cent of its creators used at least one AI tool.

He said every account, including those featuring "fully AI personas" were linked internally to "a verified real person".

Yet the identity of the person behind the Bindi Raye accounts remains a mystery.

The ABC has messaged the creator for comment, but has not received a response.

University of Queensland cybersecurity lecturer Priyanka Singh said Bindi Raye's profiles contained a wide array of telltale signs of AI.

"It seems to be almost 100 per cent AI-generated," Dr Singh said.

"I can see the lip sync is not really going with what she's saying, I can really see some frame inconsistencies … and then you see the inconsistencies in the shadows."

After the ABC approached Instagram's parent company Meta for comment, the tech giant confirmed work had begun work to remove Bindi's account for violating policies.

"While AI-generated content is not against our rules, misleading people about who is behind an account is, and we require people to disclose when they post realistic AI-generated content," a Meta spokesperson said.

A TikTok spokesperson said the platform was continuously investing in technology to improve AI detection.

Monash University research fellow Emily van der Nagel said the tailoring of Bindi Raye's persona to the mining sector — which includes some of the most lucrative jobs in the country — was likely a deliberate marketing strategy.

"You can really drill into a location that is meaningful to a lot of people who are there, and you can include some of those elements of that content," she said.

As AI gets good at hiding itself among real content, Dr van der Nagel said content consumers were more likely to be left feeling deceived.

"We do tend to overestimate how good we are at knowing the difference, and we like to pride ourselves on being able to detect authenticity from people.

"I totally can understand that there would be a level of feeling uncomfortable or even maybe betrayal."

Dr Singh has been examining how AI has proliferated in the porn industry.

"Anybody can do it … the bar for it is so low and the software is available freely," she said.

Dr Singh said AI models were developing faster than common-place understanding of how to spot AI.

"People have the notion like if it's AI-generated, it would be a low-resolution video clip that would be very easy for them to discriminate and identify that it's a fake," she said.

The ABC has identified several other accounts of female FIFO workers or tradies appearing to target well-paid mining community with sexualised, AI-generated content.

Each creator directs followers to pay-walled content or instant message services.

Experts say it signals an ability to convey authenticity, while adult content makers worry about consumers being deceived.

Perth-based adult content creator Rosie Clarke said she had been warning her clients and subscribers.

"I just worry [about] my own subscribers," she said.

Ms Clarke said she had recently been alerted to a different social media profile that was using her body in videos with another person's face, otherwise known as a deepfake.

The content was later removed by Instagram.

"They've changed my skin colour and just popped her face on top of my body," she said.

"I scrolled, and I realised, oh no, this isn't funny. She's stolen multiple videos and people believe it's real."

Ms Clarke said she was confused how AI accounts were permitted to remain on platforms like Instagram.

"It's fascinating because I get asked by Meta to verify my ID at least once a week," she said.

While there's no indication that the Bindi Raye profiles use stolen images, Jenna Love from Australia's peak body for sex workers, the Scarlet Alliance, said the use of generative AI to manipulate and repurpose pornography made by real creators was both stealing and abuse.

She said AI adult content creators had the potential to contribute to an erosion of trust in sex work.

"It's an example of intellectual property theft, and it's also a form of image-based abuse because that is a non-consensual use of somebody's image in an intimate setting," Ms Love said.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is ABC News (Business)'s report with its verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

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