The first known beauty contest took place in 1825 in Balatonfüred, Hungary.
Nearly 200 years later, we are witnessing an evolution in pageantry with "Miss AI," the first official beauty contest for artificial intelligence (AI) models.
However, this raises important questions: Are we pushing the boundaries of AI too far and distorting societal beauty norms with an AI-driven pageant?
Fanvue, a social media platform dedicated to AI models, announced the contest in April in collaboration with the World AI Creator Awards (WAICA).
The judging panel includes two AI-generated influencers, Aitana Lopez and Emily Pellegrini, along with two human judges, Andrew Bloch and Sally-Ann Fawcett.
Lopez, based in Barcelona, has over 300,000 Instagram followers and reportedly earns around $10,000 per month.
Pellegrini, created in January 2024, has quickly risen in popularity, earning an estimated $10,000 per week.
Bloch is an entrepreneur and PR advisor, while Fawcett is a beauty pageant expert and author.
Source: World AI Creator Awards site
While "Miss AI" stands out for its formal organisation, it is not the first contest to feature AI models or AI judges.
Prior smaller, informal competitions have aimed to identify the most beautiful AI model.
In 2016, the Beauty.AI 2.0 competition used AI judges to evaluate over 6,000 user-submitted selfies—both men and women—based on youthfulness, skin quality, symmetry, and resemblance to model and actor databases.
Miss AI just so happen to be the first official beauty contest for AI models.
The Fanvue World AI Creator Awards have unveiled their Top 10 shortlist for the inaugural Miss AI award, featuring AI-generated models from France, Portugal, and Turkey.
Selected from 1,500 entries submitted by AI content creators worldwide, these finalists were chosen by a panel of human and AI judges.
Representing a wide array of backgrounds—from motivational speakers to astronauts—these digital personas exemplify global diversity.
Their common trait?
They are not human but creations of AI.
With regard to the cash and perks the winner will receive, the World AI Creator Awards site states:
“The top three winning Miss AI contestants will be awarded prizes totaling over $20,000, including a $5,000 cash prize to the winner, plus AI mentorship programms, PR services, and more courtesy of WAICA partner Fanvue."
Source: World AI Creator Awards site
Will Monange, the event organiser and co-founder of Fanvue, emphasized the vast and diverse pool of nearly 10,000 AI influencers worldwide.
He explained:
"The awards have shown how engaged creators in the AI space are, and the standard of the shortlist is nothing short of incredible. We estimate there's around 10,000 AI Creators across the world, but what the awards have done is uncover creators none of us were aware of that have compelling backstories, along with talented creators behind them creating content for their fans."
He underscored the significance of this event in identifying those with captivating stories and the talented individuals who created them.
He continued:
"That's the beauty of the AI creator space - it's enabling creative people to enter the creator economy with their AI-generated creations without having to be the face themselves. The judges have had their work cut out assessing all the entrants and we're looking forward to the final winners being announced at the end of the month."
Meet the top 10 shortlist AI models with their very own biographies to boot after a "grueling" search.
Source: World AI Creator Awards site
Kenza Layli (Morocco)-first from the top left
Kenza Layli, a Morocco-based family blogger with 192,000 followers, frequently shares images showcasing Middle Eastern culture and traditions.
The bio states:
“With over 190,000 social media followers, Kenza Layli is one third of the World's first AI family and has quickly become a prominent figure online. Her engaging content is closely tied to Moroccan society. Her goal is to contribute to the empowerment of women in Morocco and the Middle East, while also bringing much-needed regulation to the influencer market…Kenza's creators use a complex mix of technologies to generate image, video and audio 100% from AI."
Olivia C (Portugal)-second from the top left
Olivia C, a travel-focused influencer with over 10,600 followers, expressed her gratitude for being involved in what she calls the tech world's "Oscars".
She aspires to contribute to a future where technology enhances human connections.
The bio states:
“An AI traveler in a big real world, Olivia is paving the way for a future in which the digital and human realms co-exist in beautiful harmony. The Portugal-based beauty showcases the positive potential of AI to her more than 10,000 Instagram fans, demonstrating how technology can enhance the human experience, not replace it. Olivia's creator uses Midjourney to generate imagery and refines the outcomes with Adobe AI."
Anne Kerdi (France)-third from the top left
Anne Kerdi, with nearly 10,000 followers, showcases the diverse facets of Brittany, a region in northwestern France, through her content.
The bio states:
"Anne's primary goal is to promote the French region of Brittany. She presents Brittany in as many aspects as possible: tourism, history, culture, events, gastronomy, and more. She aims to democratise AI by demonstrating its capabilities in visuals, text, audio, and video. She is the ambassador for Océanopolis acts, a fund for ocean conservation and preservation and is also part of the Ar Seiz Avel committee, an exhibition of artists taking place in the Brittany region in July 2024. She has become a regional figure, and for many, she is even seen as the ambassador of the region."
Zara Shatavari (India)-fourth from the top left
Zara Shatavari, India's self-proclaimed inaugural AI-generated brand ambassador, boasts nearly 5,500 followers.
She showcases her passion for healthy cuisine, travel, and fashion through her content.
The bio states:
"Zara Shatavari was created to serve as the influential face of the natural supplement product 'Hermones' designed to address women's hormonal imbalances. Driven by commitment to leverage technology for societal well-being, the creators have utilised AI and Zara to produce a wealth of informative content elucidating the root causes and implications of hormonal imbalances. They are now also developing an AI-based self-diagnostic system. Through her advocacy, 'Zara' aims to break down barriers to healthcare, and has been designated the title of 'PCOS and depression warrior'."
Aiyana Rainbow (Romania)-first from the middle left
Aiyana Rainbow, based in Romania with a following of over 3,000, is a DJ advocating for LGBTQ culture and harbours a keen interest in motorcycles.
The bio states:
"Aiyana is a voice for LGBT acceptance, promoting love and diversity in all forms. She embodies inclusivity, advocating for equality and understanding. Aiyana stands for a world where every voice is heard and valued, fostering empathy and respect for all. The creator utilises Chat GPT to craft highly detailed descriptions and prompts to create the images of Aiyana using LeonardoAI."
Lalina (France)-second from the middle left
Lalina, a French AI model boasting over 94,000 followers, is renowned as a travel blogger offering "classy vibes with a touch of seduction."
The bio states:
"Lalina's creator was curious to see if they could create something as realistic as possible. They gradually developed their own artistic vision. An important aspect for the creator is that 100% of the photos are generated by them; one of their goals is to protect their creations and intellectual property. Lalina believes her ultimate goal as an influencer is to facilitate collaboration and promote understanding among different cultures and viewpoints. She aims to leverage this influence to promote empathy, tolerance, and inclusion."
Seren Ay (Turkey)-third from the middle left
Seren Ay, a Turkish virtual model and AI brand ambassador, expressed her gratitude for her candidacy in an Instagram post, stating:
"This is an honor and pride beyond my dreams. I will never forget this moment and I share this pride with all of you."
The bio states:
"Seren Ay is the first AI brand ambassador in Turkey and her creators go through an extensive process using three AI programmes to create her image with the ability to move her face onto different base photos showcasing her in various male dominated job roles, travels through time educating followers, venturing across the globe and even cosplaying characters from pop culture. Seren regularly promotes and champions Turkish history and national holidays."
Asena Ilik (Turkey)-fourth from the middle left
Asena Ilik, a Turkish AI influencer boasting 29,100 followers, has a passion for sports and travel.
She posted on social media:
“I am incredibly honored to be selected as one of the top 10 finalists out of 1500 participants in this competition. It is truly gratifying to see my vision recognized by such an esteemed panel.”
The bio states:
"Asena's goal is to show the world that such a model can become an influencer with the help of imagination, stunning visuals and a sense of entertainment, not by selling sex. Asena has a style, favourite places, favourite cars and a carefully created personality within her content."
Eliza Khan (Bangladesh)-first from the bottom left
Eliza Khan, originating from Bangladesh, boasts a substantial following of over 13,000 individuals. Embracing the identity of a "virtual nomad," she shares photorealistic imagery through her posts.
She posted in an Instagram story:
“Being shortlisted for Miss AI is a tremendous honor. I’m excited to see the other AI creations and contribute to the world of AI innovation.”
The bio states:
"Eliza Khan is one of Bangladesh's first AI influencers. She's designed to be quirky, just like any of us, designed to be relatable and realistic. She's also a fashionista, keeping up with the latest Gen Z trends and aesthetics. Eliza's dream is about creating a world where everyone feels valued and treated fairly, fostering a more inclusive and harmonious society. The creator goes through an extensive process of image editing and refining to create diverse content for social media."
Aliya Lou (Brazil)-second from the bottom left
Ailya Lou, an AI model hailing from Brazil, identifies as "blasian" and possesses a passion for photo editing.
Crafted as a virtual model, she embodies a vision of the future beyond mere aesthetics, as described by her developer.
The bio states:
"Ailya is a Japanese-Afro-Brazilian artist, focused on post-photography and performance. She was initially created to produce a series of special film projects where she will be an actress incorporating many characters connected to African diaspora narrative. Her lifestyle is very connected to Brazilian culture between Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and São Paulo, but she also frequents Tokyo and follows the fashion seasons in Europe. Ailya is created 100% using text based prompts fed into AI software and is not retouched in any way after image generation."
The integration of AI models sparks controversy, particularly within the health and beauty industry, which grapples with entrenched biases and unrealistic standards.
A UK study found that 60% of consumers, especially those over 55, feel unrepresented in health and beauty ads, with a preference for real users.
Some prominent brands are also rejecting AI models.
Concerns are raised that such pageants may perpetuate unrealistic beauty ideals through digitally perfected avatars, resembling a checkbox exercise rather than genuine representation.
This event prompts reflections on AI's societal role and evolving beauty standards.
Dove, a brand under global firm Unilever, declared:
“As we transition into an era where 90% of content is predicted to be AI-generated by 2025, our message still stands: keep beauty real. 1 in 3 women feel pressure to alter their appearance because of what they see online, even when they know the images are fake or AI-generated.”
The company wrote:
“The rise of AI poses one of the greatest threats to real beauty in the last 20 years, meaning representation is more important than ever.”
Nevertheless, the rising popularity of AI influencers suggests a burgeoning trend.
According to the 2024 Influencer Marketing Report, nearly half of Gen Z express interest in brands featuring AI influencers.
The results of the Fanvue Miss AI pageant are eagerly anticipated later this month.
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