Faking affluence has long been a lucrative endeavor, from purchasing counterfeit designer items to staging photoshoots with rented jet sets. However, in today’s digital age, individuals are turning to artificial intelligence to craft personalized images of themselves enjoying opulent lifestyles. This trend isn’t just about gaining social media clout; for many, it’s a form of personal escape or a way to envision a more prosperous future.

This phenomenon was highlighted by app developer Tim Wijaya, who revealed insights from his recent consultancy work with OpenAI. Tasked with examining how Indonesians utilize ChatGPT, Wijaya discovered numerous Facebook groups, some boasting up to 30,000 members, dedicated to sharing AI-generated images of luxury experiences. These images range from posing with high-end cars like Lamborghinis to shopping at upscale brands such as Gucci. “Most of these users are from middle to low-income brackets in Tier-2/3 cities, earning less than $400 a month,” Wijaya noted. “It’s both poignant and intriguing that AI technology has become a form of escapism, offering a taste of lives they may never actually live.”

Laurent Del Rey, a product designer at Meta’s Superintelligence lab, has tapped into this trend with his side project, Endless Summer. This social media app is designed for those feeling burnt out and wanting to imagine the leisurely life they believe they deserve. Del Rey described the app on X as a platform for creating faux vacation photos of oneself.

A variety of AI-driven manifestation apps have also emerged on platforms like the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. These include “Manifest AI Coach: Dreams Made,” which aims to help users visualize and achieve their goals through AI-generated “vision backgrounds.” Similarly, apps like Manifestar AI and ManifestMe offer personalized visuals aligned with users’ manifestation aspirations. Others, such as “Manifest AI: Bye Broke Brain,” claim to “renew your brain in seconds,” while “Manifest AI: Affirmations” provides daily AI-generated affirmations.

However, it’s important to note that many of these applications fall short of their ambitious promises. After downloading “Manifest AI Coach: Dreams Made” and its counterparts ManifestMe and Manifest AI, I found that they primarily offered text-based affirmations accompanied by peculiar AI-generated images of goddesses, sunbursts, and DNA strands.

In contrast, Endless Summer delivers on its promise. The app allows users to upload three photos of themselves, which it then transforms into “fictional vacation photos.” During my trial, it generated images of me enjoying time in Tokyo, a New York bodega (with AI-generated text on boxes), and dining outdoors in Rio de Janeiro. While the photos didn’t perfectly resemble me, they portrayed an appealing version of myself—an experience I was happy to embrace.

Did I feel better watching my virtual self enjoy the good life? Not really. Maybe that’s because they had that distinct AI-generated aesthetic reminding me they were fake. Or maybe it’s because I don’t feel deprived of experiences in my own life — if nothing else, I happen to live in New York City, so I can pop down to a bodega myself. And after three images, I ran out of free turns. It invited me to “Keep going” and “Let the summer continue” by paying $3.99 for 30 images, $17.99 for 150 images, or $34.99 for 300 images. 

At that rate, I could pay for my own outdoor dinner (well, maybe not in New York). Or a fraction of a Spirit Airlines flight to somewhere genuinely new.