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AI models could harm young people's body image, warn experts
Overview
Experts and individuals have raised concerns that the growing prevalence of AI-generated models in advertising and social media could exacerbate unrealistic beauty standards and negatively impact young people's body image. While AI offers potential benefits for marketing diversity, default algorithms often reinforce narrow traditional ideals. Researchers note that consumers frequently react negatively to fake imagery once identified, and calls are being made for better labelling and AI-literacy.
Key points
- AI-generated models are increasingly common in social media and advertising, often appearing without clear fake or real labels.
- Individuals with lived experience of eating disorders warn that unobtainable AI beauty standards create dangerous psychological pressures for young people.
- Psychology professors note that humans naturally compare themselves to beauty ideals, and digitally constructed images that fail to reflect reality can trigger self-doubt.
- Without deliberate prompting for diversity, AI models tend to default to narrow traditional beauty standards and reinforce societal biases.
- Researchers found that consumers often emotionally detach from marketing once they realise the models are artificial rather than human.