- The winner of the world’s first AI beauty contest is announced to be Kenza Reiri
- A Moroccan “influencer” won a $13,000 prize for his advanced skills.
Style, beauty and grace may be key in most beauty pageants, but it took more than good looks to win the first ever AI beauty pageant.
Kenza Reilly, a computer-generated Moroccan “influencer,” is the winner of the Fanvue World AI Creator Awards.
The team behind “Kenza” beat out 1,500 other computer-generated women to win the $13,000 prize.
Judges told MailOnline they were impressed by the advanced technology behind the AI star and her engaging “personality”.
Upon receiving the award, the author of Kenza said, “Winning Miss AI has given me even more motivation to continue working towards the development of AI technology.”
Click here to resize this module
The Fanvue World AI Creator Awards was launched with the aim of creating the first beauty contest in the “AI influencer industry.”
Contestants were judged based on their realistic appearance, technical ability and social media influence.
Coming in second is an AI called Larina, whose Instagram account claims to offer “a classy vibe with a touch of seduction” to its 93,000 followers.
Coming in third is Olivia C. from Portugal, an AI travel influencer whose computer-generated model frequently appears in different locations around the world.
The runners-up will each receive a share of the remaining $20,000 prize pool for their efforts.
While the other contestants impressed, Kenza stood out from the crowd thanks to her unique and advanced AI and her huge following of 190,000 on Instagram.
Kenza’s advanced technology has enabled the AI to appear in a variety of slightly unsettling videos, speak in seven different languages, and even reply to fans in real time.
To celebrate the win, Kenza’s creators released an AI-generated acceptance speech video.
Aside from the eerie voice and misaligned lips, the speech sounded no different from any gracious pageant winner who takes the time to thank the judges and their fellow contestants.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to thank AI creators and passionately advocate for the positive impact of artificial intelligence,” said Kenza.
“This journey has been a testament to the power of innovation, collaboration and raising standards to shape our future.”
AI concluded with a commitment to “continue my mission to empower women around the world, including in Morocco and the Arab world, and amplify their voices in the tech industry.”
Will Monange, co-founder of Fanvue, said: “We offer heartfelt congratulations to Kenza and all the other applicants. The global interest in this inaugural Fanvue World AI Creator Awards has been incredible.”
“This award concept has put AI creators in the spotlight like never before, and we’re excited about the future of the award and where it’s headed.”
But the judges said it wasn’t just their message of empowerment that earned Kenza’s creators their award.
Sofia Novales, one of the judges and part of the team behind AI influencer Aitana Lopez, told MailOnline: “What we wanted to judge the contestants on is the technology behind them.”
“That means, for example, achieving consistent face and hand good results.”
Novales was particularly impressed by how Kenza strays far from typical beauty standards.
She says: “From my own experience, it’s very difficult to create something that’s not of standard beauty, so it’s very complicated to create something that’s not as perfect as the others.”
Click here to resize this module
The idea of a contest for AI influencers may seem odd now, but the contest’s organizers believe it could grow into a huge industry.
Fanvue estimates that the industry could be worth £1bn by the end of this year, with creators emerging all over the world.
Already, some top AI influencers, such as Aitana Lopez, are charging big brands up to $1,000 (£800) per post.
Novales told MailOnline that the team behind Aitana at theclueless.ai have just signed a deal with Llongueras, a major Spanish hair salon chain.
Finding human models willing to change their hairstyle every few weeks was difficult, so the company turned to AI models as an alternative, she explains.
The flexibility, speed and low cost of using AI influencers rather than humans makes them a serious option for businesses looking to promote their products, he said.
Ultimately, Novales doesn’t think AI like Kenza will completely replace human influencers, but he does think they will become more commonplace.
“Robots aren’t going to replace humans,” Novales said. “AI is a new skill set that you have to learn right now. After all, AI is a real thing.”
“AI will never replace the creative mind of an actual human being, but it can enhance the possibilities.”