The singularity is coming, and whilst many of us awaiting the ‘rapture of the nerds’ are praying that it might usher in a sexual utopia of free love and an abundance of female flesh – human, silicone, or digital – it seems others have different ideas. The organizers and judges of the ‘first ever AI beauty pageant’ have decided to go woke, and have envisioned something closer to a Sharia Law singularity rather than a sexual one. The first winner of their Miss AI contest has been announced, and she is a hijab wearing Moroccan woman by the name of Kenza Layli.
When the Fanvue organized event was announced several months ago, it attracted an all too predictable backlash from feminist writers. Arwa Mahdawi, who is an American/British feminist journalist, was particularly scathing. Writing for the Guardian newspaper, she opined that the AI pageant felt like ‘a monumental step backwards’ that would reinforce ‘toxic gendered beauty norms’. Well it seems that the organizers and judges have taken heed. Whilst ‘Kenza Layli’ is undoubtedly beautiful, the decision to award first prize to a hijab wearing Muslim virtual influencer is simply politically correct.
To be fair, the organizers of the pageant had listed ‘social clout’ as one of the three judging criteria, along with beauty and technology. And according to the World AI Creator Awards (WAICA) behind the pageant, her win will empower women throughout the Middle East.
So AI influencers and babes are not going to replace women, feminists need not worry. In fact, they are going to empower real women. Call me a cynic, but I’m a little sceptical as to how some Arabic male geek creating a hijab wearing virtual influencer is going to achieve that. But that’s the spin that Fanvue and their WAICA beauty pageant is presenting to the world, and to their many critics.
