The first “Miss AI” contest, held by influencer platform Fanvue, has sparked controversy for promoting unrealistic beauty standards through AI-generated social media influencers.
Key details of the contest: Fanvue’s “Miss AI” pageant, part of the “World AI Creator Awards,” judged AI-generated social media influencers:
- The winner, Kenza Layli, is a fictional Instagram influencer from Morocco with over 200,000 followers, created by Myriam Bessa of the Phoenix AI agency.
- The contest awarded cash prizes to the creators of the top three AI-generated influencers, with Bessa receiving $5,000 for Layli’s first-place win.
- CNN covered the event, seemingly referring to the AI-generated images as if they were real people, quoting Layli’s AI-generated or ghostwritten acceptance speech.
Criticism from the AI community: The contest has drawn backlash from women in the AI field, who argue that it objectifies women and sets a problematic precedent:
- Dr. Sasha Luccioni, a Hugging Face AI researcher, expressed disappointment but not surprise, calling the contest “another stepping stone on the road to objectifying women with AI.”
- Critics argue that the lack of gender diversity in the AI field has led to the creation of AI-generated images that promote an ideal of what women should look like.
- The rise of AI-generated Instagram influencers, made possible by tools like Stable Diffusion and techniques like Dreambooth, has attracted criticism since its emergence in 2022.
Analyzing the implications: The “Miss AI” contest highlights the pervasiveness of AI-generated fakery in contemporary culture and raises questions about the potential consequences:
- The contest’s controversial nature serves as publicity for Fanvue, which monetizes attention online, regardless of whether it is AI-generated or human-generated.
- The event promotes unrealistic beauty standards that no human can live up to, potentially exacerbating feelings of inadequacy among both women and men.
- As AI-generated influencers become more prevalent, it is crucial to consider the ethical implications and the impact on societal perceptions of beauty and authenticity.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...