AI Beauty Judges The New Hot or Not

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Existing and being perceived in the human form presents enough challenges. We constantly consider our bodies, hair, skin, and how others might view them. There is the pressure of our online persona, our appearance in real life, and the effort to reconcile these images. Now, in a somewhat baffling development, people are turning to ChatGPT to judge their attractiveness and get advice on how to improve their looks.

AI Steps In as Beauty Advisor

The Washington Post recently detailed how individuals are using ChatGPT for beauty-related queries. The report shared several instances of people asking the chatbot for an unsparing assessment of their physical appearance.

As the Post described:

But in a novel use case, people are uploading their own photos, asking it for unsparing assessments of their looks and sharing the results on social media. Many also ask the bot to formulate a plan for them to "glow up," or improve their appearance. Users say the bot, in turn, has recommended specific products from hair dye to Botox.

TikTok Showcases the Trend

A quick search on TikTok reveals numerous examples of users asking ChatGPT to rate their attractiveness or advise them on so-called "glow-ups." It is important to remember that AI models generally gather their information by scraping the internet. We've seen ample evidence that the internet and social media can negatively impact our self-image.

AI Reflects Online Biases

Emily Pfeiffer, a commerce analyst at Forrester, explained to the Post that AI "just echoes what it’s seen online, and much of that has been designed to make people feel bad about themselves and buy more products."

People are increasingly using ChatGPT for various trends. These include replicating selfies numerous times or employing ChatGPT as a reverse location search tool. And now, it seems, we are using it to rank our attractiveness. With all this advanced technology, we appear to be reverting to an old-school "HOT or NOT" style of social media engagement.