The Rise of the AI Beauty Pageant

What’s Going On with AI Beauty Pageants?

Recently, the world saw something pretty unusual: a beauty pageant called “Miss AI.” This wasn’t your normal beauty contest. Instead of real people, there were ten women created by different teams using some serious AI tech like OpenAI’s DALL·E 3, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion. These AI “contestants” are all about showing off what beauty can look like through the lens of technology, not reality.

How AI is Changing What We Think of as Beautiful

When AI gets involved in beauty contests, it starts to mess with our ideas of what beauty is. The problem is, these AI systems often pick up on old-school beauty standards—like favoring light skin, thinness, and perfect symmetry—that aren’t exactly fair or diverse. They learn from images on the internet that already reflect these biases, so they end up repeating them. This can make the same old stereotypes even stronger.

A Researcher’s Take on AI and Beauty Standards

Dr. Kerry McInerney, who studies this stuff at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, points out that AI often just mirrors the biases we already have in society. It doesn’t really push for change or diversity, which is a big missed opportunity.

AI and Its Bigger Social Role

The Miss AI pageant tries to do more than just show off AI-crafted beauty. It also aims to talk about important issues. For example, one AI contestant, Aiyana Rainbow, is all about LGBTQ rights. Others might focus on saving the planet or dealing with mental health. It’s interesting to see AI used this way, creating characters that care about big, real-world problems.

What We Should Think About Next

As AI keeps getting better, we have to think hard about the messages we’re sending with these perfect, computer-generated images. It’s great that AI can make something beautiful, but we also need to make sure it helps us appreciate all kinds of beauty, not just the “perfect” kind. Looking ahead, the goal should be to use AI to open up new conversations about beauty, diversity, and what being real really means.

Find out how the first AI beauty pageant is changing the way we think about beauty and what it means for the future.

FAQ: Understanding the AI Beauty Pageant

1. What exactly is an AI beauty pageant?
   An AI beauty pageant is a modern twist on the traditional beauty contest. Instead of human participants, this pageant features competitors who are completely designed by artificial intelligence. These AI-generated figures are created by teams using advanced technologies to showcase different beauty ideals. It’s like a showcase of what future beauty might look like through the lens of technology.
2. Why do AI beauty pageants favor traditional beauty standards?
   The reason AI beauty pageants often lean towards traditional beauty standards—like lighter skin, slim figures, and perfect symmetry—is because the AI is trained on images available on the internet. Unfortunately, these images tend to reflect longstanding biases and stereotypes. So, without proper guidance, AI simply repeats these outdated ideals instead of challenging or diversifying them.
3. Can AI beauty pageants have a positive impact on society?
   Yes, despite some of the challenges, AI beauty pageants can also have a positive influence. They offer a platform to address and promote various social causes. For example, AI contestants can be designed to advocate for issues like LGBTQ rights, environmental conservation, or mental health awareness. This turns the pageant into more than just a display of beauty—it becomes a space for meaningful conversations and activism, even if it’s coming from virtual personas.

Sources CNN