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PERILS OF THE AI REIGN
The Morning Standard
|June 29, 2024
SHATAVARI is a plant from the asparagus family that is known in Ayurvedic medicine for its benefits to female reproductive health.
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Its name is supposed to mean "she who has a thousand husbands". I can't help but squirm with disgust at what must have gone through the head of Rahul Choudhry, the creator of an Artificial Intelligence model named Zara Shatavari, when he bestowed this moniker on his creation.
Zara Shatavari will represent India in the world's first AI beauty pageant, organised by the social media platform Fanvue. The pageant has a USD 20,000 prize and "contestants" will be judged for their "impact" as influencers and models, on three criteria: beauty, tech proficiency, and social influence.
The scare quotes are all mine. Take a second to take it all in: entities that exist only digitally will be assessed and rewarded as if they are human. The panel of judges includes two people and two AI models.
Beauty pageants are problematic. Influencer culture is problematic. AI is problematic.
This story is from the June 29, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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