Beauty Redefined: The Unprecedented Rise of AI Influencers in the World’s First Digital Beauty Pageant

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Marah Eakin

The Remarkable Emergence of the Inaugural AI Beauty Contest

It's unlikely that John Keats, when penning the words “beauty is truth, truth beauty” in his poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” envisioned the concept of AI influencers.

In hindsight, it might have been a wise choice. In April, Fanvue, a creator platform enhanced with artificial intelligence that positions itself between OnlyFans and Cameo in its range of offerings, debuted what it has dubbed the first-ever beauty contest for AI creators. By Monday, the World AI Creator Awards had revealed its top 10 contenders. Selected from a group exceeding 1,500 entrants, these semifinalists are competing not only to disprove Keats but also to win rewards totaling approximately $20,000.

Within the top ten contenders, there's Seren Ay, an eye-catching red-haired woman from Turkey, often captured in roles usually dominated by men in her region, such as an electrical lineman or a firefighter. (Additionally, she delves into the realm of time travel, sharing "images" alongside velociraptors and Turkey's inaugural president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.)

Next, we have Aiyana Rainbow, a unique blend of Romanian motorcyclist and disc jockey, identified by her creators as queer. This aspect of her identity is highlighted through her distinctive name and the carefully styled, vibrant rainbow-colored hair she sports. On another front, Kenza Layli, an influencer from Morocco known for her hijab, actively endorses a wide range of products, from personal care items to promoting local tourism. This strategy aligns with findings from a recent survey indicating that nearly half of the Gen Z participants from the US and UK expressed a greater interest in brands represented by AI ambassadors.

The finalists of Fanvue are a diverse group from around the world, but they all share a striking beauty. They have the perfect balance of muscular physique, gorgeous facial features, and a vibrant personality typically seen in influencer circles. Their interests and advocacies, ranging from fashion and inclusivity to travel and addressing hormonal imbalances, are sufficiently engaging to appeal to both their audience and commercial partners. The captions accompanying their photos, crafted by either people or artificial intelligence, often contain clichés celebrating the joys of life.

At first glance, it might appear to be just superficial, but these completely artificial contestants aren't much different from those in real beauty contests, particularly in 2024. Sociologist Hilary Levey Friedman, who researches beauty competitions and is the daughter of a past Miss America, believes that an AI beauty pageant isn't really a significant departure from traditional practices. She points out that participants have long relied on various enhancements, such as cosmetic surgery, hair extensions, artificial tanning, teeth glossed with petroleum jelly, strategic body shaping, or using "chicken cutlets" for figure enhancement.

According to Friedman, participants in pageants frequently resort to airbrushing and photographic techniques to enhance their social media and headshot visuals, a practice that has traditionally not been frowned upon in the sector. However, it's important to remember that, despite the enhancements and digital manipulations, there is a real person managing those profiles and appearing on stage, existing in flesh and blood beneath all the illumination and digital alterations.

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Authored by Eric Ravenscraft

Authored by Ryan Waniata

By Dell Cameron

Friedman highlights the unique aspect of an AI pageant hosted by Fanvue, emphasizing that its participants are crafted by their developers' imaginations. She points out that these creations reflect prevalent notions of female beauty, yet they may incorporate unconventional features like pink hair. However, Friedman notes, even these distinctive traits do not stray far from conventional standards of attractiveness, such as slim physiques and clear skin.

The developers behind the AI model known as Aitana Lopez (pictured above) have been appointed as judges for the World AI Creator Awards beauty contest.

To clarify, the competition hosted by Fanvue, akin to traditional beauty contests, aims to crown a champion not solely on looks. However, diverging from many such competitions, the World AI Creator Awards emphasize criteria such as "social media influence" and the effectiveness with which creators have utilized prompts to present their entries. The announcement of the victors is scheduled for later this month.

Berat Gungor, a co-creator of Seren Ay, explains that within the realm of artificial intelligence, generating an unattractive face is not really possible, although he emphasizes that all human faces possess their own beauty. Despite novices in the field often producing images with smudged details and odd-looking hands, Gungor mentions that his skilled team managed to develop an array of 300 attractive female images using Stable Diffusion. From this selection, they chose Seren Ay's visage for its lifelike appearance.

"They're tapping into the common cliches we hold regarding the ideal of 'beauty' in women, suggesting that those who engage with AI may envision attractiveness differently. Perhaps envisioning a woman with pink hair, yet she remains aligned with conventional standards of beauty."

Fanvue's selection of slender, attractive finalists, who are predominantly fair-skinned, mirrors the findings of The Washington Post. The newspaper had used AI tools Dall-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion to produce images of beautiful women, revealing a tendency for these programs to favor a surprisingly limited definition of beauty. According to the report from last week, the vast majority of the several thousand images created displayed women who were young, of light to medium complexion, and slim. (Only about 2 percent of the images depicting "beautiful women" included visible aging signs.)

The pictures mirror the sources they originate from in several aspects. Sandhini Agarwal, who leads trustworthy AI efforts at OpenAI, shared with the Post that the portrayal of individuals in media, art, and the entertainment sector influences AI, as the tendencies from these domains seep into artificial intelligence.

If widespread portrayals of slender, attractive women lead to artificial intelligence producing more images of similar women, who then become slender, attractive AI-generated influencers, contributing images that simply reinforce the existing media narrative, doesn't this create a cyclical problem? Moreover, what implications does this have for individuals who don't fit into conventional standards of beauty, those whose body measurements don't match the unrealistic online ideals, or who simply don't have the resources to maintain impeccably styled hair?

Authored by Matt

Authored by Eric Ravenscraft

By Ryan Waniata

Authored by Dell

Primarily, this highlights the widening gap between human influencers and their AI counterparts. Take Aiyana Rainbow's vibrant hair, which is designed to catch the eye. (It appears that generative AI has a penchant for assigning bright hair colors to queer individuals.) The choice to not create an avatar with plain brown hair or embody a middle-aged woman passionate about gardening is because such imagery lacks the eye-catching appeal, despite how exaggerated or clichéd it may seem.

Aiyana Rainbow may not achieve absolute perfection, as her designers acknowledge her face lacks complete symmetry. However, it would be challenging for any admirer skimming quickly to spot any imperfections.

Companies are definitely cautious about gambling their money on influencers whose reputations are anything less than immaculate. Though there's been a noticeable appreciation for celebrities who showcase genuine behavior on the internet in recent years (for example, actors such as Renee Rapp, Nicola Coughlin, and Dakota Johnson who have been notably unfiltered during promotional events), this hasn't stopped meticulously crafted personas, whether they are maintained by real people or artificial intelligence, from being valued just as highly.

Will Monange, co-founder of Fanvue, revealed that their platform is now hosting "thousands of monthly income-generating AI creators," a figure that has dramatically increased in the last year. AI personalities such as Aitana Lopez, who is part of the judging panel for Fanvue's competition, are also experiencing significant success, amassing a following of hundreds of thousands interested in Lopez's digital preferences, hobbies, and lingerie images. (She even participates in online Fortnite games.)

The creators of Seren Ay reveal that the digital avatar frequently receives requests for guidance on relationships, eagerly offering her insights in response. Meanwhile, Kenza Layli, a finalist from Morocco, enjoys an engagement rate of approximately 5 percent on her social media posts, a statistic that would make many in the marketing field extremely envious.

Their attractiveness only adds to the appeal, though it's a double-edged sword. It highlights the problematic way in which society prioritizes a particular beauty ideal, whether in humans or AI constructs. In an era where countless individuals obsess over popular influencers, fully aware that a personal interaction or significant relationship is unlikely, an AI competition such as the one hosted by Fanvue points to a broader societal problem rather than signaling an imminent catastrophe.

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