43 Comments
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Abby Gray's avatar

Hiring an AI-generated editor is wild enough, posing with them in a photograph is a level of delusion I could only aspire to

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

Honestly, I think the photos are often the weirdest part!? Reem "meeting" the Editor, Aitana López posting pictures of her "holiday food", like WHAT IS GOING ON??

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Abby Gray's avatar

I think it’s designed so that anyone who doesn’t bother looking so closely into these things will just assume they’re a regular person — and that’s pretty scary for employability. You could be assessed against an AI model when interviewing for jobs - or even while employed. Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a practice in some companies already.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

Yes! I noticed that with a lot of them—that they keep the fact that they’re AI deliberately vague. It’s very easy to miss on a lot of these profiles so in a way I sympathise with how many people are asking these very human questions in the comments 😒

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loren's avatar

Didn't know about Reem. Good post. Loaded topic. Blade Runner 2049...the aptly named Joi. It's gonna get weirder.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

Ugh, it's absolutely going to get weirder! I'm not up for it at ALL

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selara's avatar

Hold on, we live in a world with AI influencers??? As if the META chat features Instagram pushed out wasn’t enough??? This is terrifying.

Thank you for writing this and shedding light onto some of the major social issues arising because of meta/ai.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

I know!? It feels so unnecessary, I feel like there's surely some really cool outlets for AI and they've chosen to run with this stuff instead 🥱

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Grant Hope's avatar

I don't care for AI as we are seeing it integrated today. It just seems like a Pandora's Box. That being said, the SheerLuxe bit seems a bit disingeneuous. If we want the best people for a job then race shouldn't matter, but it feels more racial to make a diversity "hire" by using AI. Not only does someone not have a job, it's pointing out skin tone as a way to rub it in.

On the upside, right now we can see that AI influencers have a sheen to them, but others have gotten smart and are only replacing faces. Both men and women are hurt by this. If we want to inspire women, then using real women is important. If we want boys to grow into adulthood with realistic expectations, then flooding the marketplace with glossed-up perfection that talks back will only isolate men more and create more distance for women in the dating pool. We could really be looking at a developing case of "sex sells, sex destroys". As I see it, AI influencers are the next step from the OF boom.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

You've just made me think about the inevitability of AI models replacing (and charging money from) real people on OF and now I need to go to bed for several days 😆

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Grant Hope's avatar

It's truly dystopian that AI and the information age have made finding traditional jobs harder, but even the oldest profession in the world will be affected.

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Aurelia's avatar

This topic is both disturbing and depressing. We never seem to learn from our mistakes. Instead, we repeat history but make it even worse. In the 90s, young girls had to 'compete' with models trapped in a heroin chic narrative. The only positive thing is that these were real women who later called this out and tried to change things (not all, but many). I worry for the next generation of girls, including my daughter. How can we ask them to compare themselves to artificial women with unreal bodies and non-human understanding and needs? It's extremely dangerous. Shame on those believing that this type of AI revolution is positive, and shame on Sheerluxe who should be acutely aware of such dangers and the messages they are giving young women.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 You’re so right. I dread to think of the effects AI will have on body image

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Rachel Wildavsky's avatar

Really disturbing topic.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

It really is 😩

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Tay's avatar

Thank you for the TW!

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

Of course! 🤗

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jade hurley 💌's avatar

last line got me!!!

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

🥹💓💓

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Shay B. Keats's avatar

Ah this shit is so sinister.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

Sooooo sinister 🙃🥲

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Britni Pepper's avatar

I'm surprised that these three aren’t raising their voices here in defence.

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Tim McFarlane Studio's avatar

This is a really good read, thanks for putting it out there. This use of AI is so wrong on so many levels that I don't even know where to start. I'm honestly not surprised that so many people, particularly men, are casually engaging with these AI generated personalities. They all are looking for the experience of "possibly" having a reply or interaction with it/them, just like they do with real women. They don't care if it's real or not, as long as there's even the illusion of them having a chance at attention.

I fear that the expectations of men of all ages who interact with AI-generated "women" will make it worse for real women. I'm with you on the ill effects this is and will be having on younger men going forward. The unrealistic expectations coupled with the extreme views of people like Andrew Tate and others like him on the minds of young men and how that can horrifyingly play out for women is terrifying.

There's too many layers of wrong with this.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

Absolutely! This type of thing and the Andrew Tate mentality is all very tightly wound up together. It almost exacerbates seeing women as this completely different inferior species, when actually getting to know real women would squash this way of thinking pretty quickly...

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Tim McFarlane Studio's avatar

Yes, but getting to know real women would mean facing themselves and letting go of their beliefs and I think many aren’t willing to do that. I hope some are, but I’m not confident.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

👏 👏 👏

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Camilla's avatar

I worked in AI last year with avatars and it’s quite terrifying!

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

Ooooh, I'm interested to know more! What was the most terrifying bit?

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Camilla's avatar

The speed at which this is all changing. The money changing hands for voice and images that actors will never be able to get out and what these avatars can be used for down the line.

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Mary Beth's avatar

Extremely important topic. Thank you for writing.

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

My pleasure! Thank you ☺️

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Jayson Rey's avatar

An interesting and eye-opening read! It really is unfortunate that AI has become yet another medium to promote harmful and unrealistic expectations for women

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

Thank you! Yeah, it's a pretty dire state of affairs, but a predictable one, too!

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Megan Lee's avatar

😠😠😠 this is just awful. The obsession with looking flawless (i.e. not accepting yourself) to literally communicating with a artificial intelligence like it's a real human is just GROSSSSSSSS. 🤮

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

It’s honestly wrong from SO many different angles, I’m really failing to see any real positives?! Other than just “experimentation” 🥴

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Kristen Vinakmens's avatar

Reem’s IG is still going strong, and even weirder, she’s interacting with other virtual influencers : https://www.instagram.com/p/C-Dmdj4I35x/?igsh=MWNxbnBlOGx0MnlweQ==

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Alanna Duffield's avatar

Oh god! Putting it down to a vote on whether to “keep her” or not is also quite a weird move. I think they should have removed her after the backlash and admitted it just wasn’t a great or necessary idea

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