Many individuals do not support beauty pageants. Numerous articles discuss the feminist critiques of these competitions and the moral implications of dressing young children in crowns for evaluation. But what if we replace the participants—removing the human element entirely—with a variety of software programs? That’s the concept behind the AI beauty pageant.
“What would be your greatest wish for improving the world?”
Contestants in beauty pageants have answered variations of this question for years, striving to achieve the ideal mix of dignified compassion and cheerful optimism. Many recall Sandra Bullock’s comedic portrayal in Miss Congeniality, where a tough federal agent goes undercover as a beauty queen. Bullock’s character awkwardly navigates her way to second place, relying on her charm to nearly win, ultimately being named Miss Congeniality by her peers. Now, however, an AI will be the one responding to that question.
We somehow suspect we won’t get the same wit as the film’s iconic answer: “Harsher penalties for parole violators. I mean, world peace.”
An AI Beauty Pageant?
The Fanvue Miss AI pageant, part of the World AI Creator Awards, aims to showcase ten finalist AI models in a contest modeled after a traditional beauty pageant. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and an “Imagine Creator Mentorship Program” valued at $3,000.
Cofounder Will Monange has ambitious plans for the event, hoping it becomes “the Oscars of the AI creator economy.”
While the contestants’ attractiveness and realism will be evaluated, their responses to questions will also be judged. However, unlike traditional beauty contests—where the contestant wins or loses—here, it’s the creator who will claim the prize.
“The creator economy is an incredibly thrilling environment right now,” Monange said. “Thanks to our platform, we’ve seen explosive growth in AI creators building audiences and monetizing their content.”
Generating AI Models
One might argue these creations aren’t true creators at all. Given that AI systems learn and adapt by collecting data from the internet, OpenAI has stated it’s “impossible” to train an AI without using copyrighted content. This suggests the human creator’s role is often limited to providing prompts—letting AI draw from the labor of others.
In fact, numerous artists have launched a class-action lawsuit against the companies behind image generators like Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and DreamUp. They claim these tools infringe on copyright by training on internet-sourced images. The case is ongoing, and its legal outcome remains uncertain.
AI Beauty Creators
Then there are the AI personalities themselves—digital influencers who, in many cases, have amassed online followings that don’t realize they’re artificial. Two such influencers are even on the judging panel.
One is Aitana Lopez, a virtual model with pink hair who earns up to €10,000 a month for her male creator. Another is Emily Pelligrini, a global AI model with more than 100,000 Instagram followers.
According to their creators, much of their audience believes they’re real. “They think she’s genuine. They invite her to Dubai to dine at fancy restaurants,” Pelligrini’s creator told The Daily Mail.
Something Feels Off
None of these figures are real, and—let’s be honest—the men behind them are the ones profiting. These avatars are deliberately designed: pale skin, large breasts, and narrow waists.
After years of pushing for size inclusivity, diversity, and authentic representation of women, this iteration of beauty targets the male gaze in the most literal, exaggerated way possible. Men created these images—or at least instructed the AI to make sure the hair was long and the proportions extreme.
An AI beauty pageant doesn’t feel like progress. I doubt Miss Congeniality would be on board with this either.
