What happens when AI gets the beauty treatment

Meet The first-ever Miss AI, the polite Kenza Layli from Morocco

By Karishma Nandkeolyar

Behind the curtains

The Miss AI competition was launched as a part of the World AI Creator Awards in collaboration with Fanvue. There were about 15,000 entries from around the globe, of which 10 made it to the finals. The contestants were created using programmes such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, and their speeches are reportedly a result of Chat GPT.

The judging panel had four people – two human and two virtual. Britain historian Sally-Anne Fawcett and Andrew Bloch, PR Consultant at Lord Sugar brought the human element while virtual model Aitana Lopez and influencer Emily Pellegrini also weighed in on the final decision. The candidates were judged on the basis of their beauty, social media influence and the tech skills used to create them.

When she was crowned, the judges told MailOnline that they were quite taken with the tech behind Layli and her ‘personality’.

The virtual star is not just for show -- she’s actually making strides as an activist. “I'm involved in initiatives promoting cultural exchange, women empowerment, and AI education in diverse communities,” she says, adding, “AI education is crucial for preparing individuals for the future job market and fostering innovation and problem-solving skills.”

If you are wondering whether we needed an AI beauty competition at all though, you wouldn’t be alone. “I think we are going overboard with this whole AI thing. This just doesn’t make sense. Wouldn’t it be better to have real women stand as symbols of strength and substance? So yeah, I don’t know whether this is going to inspire anybody anywhere,” says Dubai-based copywriter Zainul Barodawala.

Where are the humans?

For Dubai-based model and influencer Pooja Biswas, AI and beauty pageants should have a balanced marriage. She explains: “Beauty pageants and the role of technology in them is quite nuanced and has become a debate around the world. Beauty pageants traditionally reflect and celebrate human beauty and personality. Contestants gain valuable experiences in terms of public speaking, confidence building, and networking opportunities. I feel technology and AI-generated virtual pageants can set unrealistic beauty standards. The whole idea of celebrating beauty changes. I strongly feel that technology should be used to enhance the pageant shows without replacing the human element.”

However, there is an argument to be made for the fact that AI is here and will percolate through most fields. As Shehzad Yunus, the UAE-based founder and CEO of Humanized 3D for Digital, says: “Like all facets of life and much like every industry, AI is here and we cannot hide from it. We can't bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich.”

Or, it was bound to happen.

Fortunately, he explains: “If used wisely and prudently, AI can be your biggest ally. It's like a new tool that can make your life easier. AI will not steal your job -- someone who knows how to use it surely will. And AI is making huge progress in the fashion industry too which is really amazing.”

One industry which is increasingly using AI influencers is advertising, and it’s easy to see why. You mould the subject into becoming the mascot you need. Plus, says Yunus, they are much cheaper to employ. “I have been at the forefront of creating hyper-realistic 3D virtual models/influencers since 2020… so I can tell you how exciting the prospect of using them is. They work for a whole lot of reasons. Firstly, brands can create virtual influencers from scratch based on their ethos, brand values and the virtual influencer (VI) can echo the DNA of the brand.

“Unlike real influencers, whose political views or controversies can adversely affect the brand, virtual influencers can be totally controlled by the client. I am not saying that they are subservient slaves, but let's just say that VIs don't act like prima donnas. If you look at super successful global VI like [American character] Lil Miquela and [the world’s first digital supermodel] Shudu Gram, you will understand how their audience connects with them, engages with them and loves them. Some of the biggest brands are working with them.”

Changing standards of beauty

Shehzad Yunus

Which brings us to another issue; beauty standards in the world are already skewed towards the young, thin and ‘glass skinned’. Will these bars not be set unachieveably higher when people can just build the person they want, with the proportion and personality they choose? “Beauty standards may evolve due to AI influencers, models, and beauty queens, reflecting diversity and inclusivity,” says Layli, adding: “While there may be concerns, promoting diversity and authenticity can lead to positive changes in beauty standards.”

Pooja Biswas.

There is another issue that crops up when it comes to creating AI-generated influencers, and that’s the real prospect of creating someone who is too life-like. Think of the recent court case that involved Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson and Open AI, which she accused it of using her voice as part of its programme. At the time, reported UK’s Guardian, OpenAI said AI voices should not “deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice” and the voice being employed by the GPT-4o model, Sky, was not an imitation of Johansson’s but “belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice”. Now imagine that it’s more than a voice, it’s a person’s face that’s being recreated for reasons best known to the artist working on it.

“I am not such a huge fan of AI-generated influencers because anyone can create them. People are using DeepFake to bring these characters to life. I prefer creating a proper 3D influencer and then using technology, motion capture and animation to bring them to life. When you randomly let an AI app like Midjourney or Stable Diffusion create your influencer there is no control and you might end up creating an exact likeness of a living person and that would lead to legal issues.”

If we truly believe that AI is a tool that can make a difference, it falls on us to harness its power – and that means upping the current protocols for using it. “We need to have legal systems in place to monitor what's being created and propagated. Creating deep fakes and clones can get really ugly. All the leading AI platforms are aware of these implications and are implementing strict guidelines. We need to use AI responsibly. More than proper, serious virtual influencers it's the scantily clothed AI-generated characters that have become rampant. That is what worries me the most,” says Yunus.

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