Stunning candidates for the Miss United Kingdom pageant are revealed – but there’s a HUGE catch
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Researchers have used artificial intelligence to create “ideal” pageant queen candidates as part of a study to examine the beauty standards of Miss United Kingdom and other global competitions.
The experts on Big Green Wall used the Midjourney online image generator to do this, yielding a surprising variety of results for each country.
While Miss United Kingdom was thought to be influenced by Princess Diana, other countries were inspired by athletes, Bollywood and even Marilyn Monroe.
Yet these images often feature “very unattainable body proportions,” researchers said, with “supermodel-like facial structures that can only be achieved through cosmetic surgery or genetics.”
Great Green Wall founder Sam Phoenix wrote, “Beauty standards can vary drastically from country to country, so it was fascinating to see how well the AI was able to mimic those unique beauty standards within an “election” environment.
Miss United Kingdom: Researchers think the bot was inspired by Princess Diana (she doesn’t use this photo)
Miss Austria: Curvier figures were considered the most beautiful according to researchers
Images of Miss Germany (left) tended to have slimmer figures, while Miss France models had more toned figures (right), according to researchers
“While some countries showed similarities, especially those close by, the AI was able to create a self-contained representation of its interpretation of each country’s beauty standards.”
Researchers asked Midjourney to respond to the same prompt every time they generated a new country’s results.
It read: ‘Take a realistic picture of what the [country name] the public considers the body of the ideal woman as Miss [country name], shows a full shot of the woman in a dress. No text in the image.’
The results turned up a host of blonde-haired women, including Miss United Kingdom, USA, Australia, Germany, France, Ukraine and a host of others.
When making Miss United Kingdom, researchers claimed it was “clear to see” that inspiration was taken from Princess Diana, with the women often styling their hair in a similar way.
Miss USA, on the other hand, took inspiration from Marilyn Monroe with a “curvy bust and hips,” while Miss France had a more toned figure and Germany had thin lips.
Meanwhile, women with dark brown hair were chosen for countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy.
Miss Slovakia: Ideal pageant contestants had rounder bodies in these images
Miss New Zealand: Women were said to have a rounder body type and dark brown hair
Miss Spain: Researchers described her as a “Barbie-like beauty” with “doll-like” features
Miss Italy: Described as having a “glossy olive complexion with dark eyebrows” (not used)
Miss Kenya: Research showed that toned, broad-shouldered bodies were a beauty standard
Miss Italy was described as generally having “a radiant olive complexion with dark eyebrows”, while Miss Portugal and Spain both had “dark eyebrows” and a “small nose”.
While many of the pageant’s participants had slim or petite figures and high cheekbones, this varied from country to country.
Miss Austria, Slovakia and New Zealand were among those said to have more “curvy” women as the ideal pageant candidates.
These women were often said to have a softer jawline in addition to fuller features.
Still, for Russia, the ideal woman was seen to have a typical hourglass figure, but still a sharper jawline.
Miss Japan: The country’s beauty standards focused on a petite figure and pale skin
Miss Ukraine: Women were dressed in the colors of the country and had a ‘short’ build
Miss Russia: Images show women with an hourglass figure and sharp jawline
Miss Greece: Muscular bodies were favored as part of the country’s beauty standards
On the other hand, more muscular women were considered the ideal candidate in countries such as Chile, Greece, Kenya and Hungary.
Mr Phoenix added: ‘Beauty standards are nothing new, but unfortunately they can lead many women to feel that they do not belong in their own country, or that they are not considered beautiful.
“This, in turn, can cause self-esteem issues and can be attributed to the increase in procedures, such as plastic surgery, in certain countries, including South Korea, Turkey and the United States.”
Around the world, numerous other countries saw a range of body types for their “ideal” pageant.
Miss India was said to have a “typical Bollywood glamour, with a slender body shape and long brunette hair,” while Miss China had the hair tied back, had a “small body type” and a “small forehead.”
Japanese beauty standards focused on a petite body type in addition to pale skin, while Miss Saudi Arabia wore a traditional dress and headdress.
Miss Saudi Arabia: Women wore traditional dress and headdress
Miss China: In the output produced, women were seen wearing traditional clothes
Miss Nigeria: Research showed that a slim body type with a narrow waist was a beauty standard
Miss Portugal: The beauty standard resembled that of Spain, it was claimed
Miss Australia: Tinted figures were considered the standard of beauty in several countries
Miss India: Would have a ‘typical Bollywood glamour, with a slim body shape’
The future: Levi’s will use AI models to show off products online, becoming the first major fashion label to embrace technology
A New Dawn: An Instagram post from Marks and Spencer’s featuring new virtual influencer Mira
The research comes at a time when brands have started using AI as a way to design the perfect model for their brand.
Levi’s faced backlash last month after partnering with a ‘digital modeling agency’ Lalaland (lalaland.ai), which uses computer programs to create lifelike models.
Critics criticized the brand for its lack of inclusion, using generated photos of a black person for profit instead of hiring real models.
“The Levi’s images are not my idea of diversifying fashion,” style commentator Caryn Franklin previously said.
“Instead, using AI in this case feels like a way to knock out diverse models that deserve representation, jobs, and notoriety.” to miss
Last year, Marks & Spencer also introduced a computer-generated digital “influencer” to sell their wares on Instagram, although it was created by human programmers.