ChatGPT is being asked for ‘honest, harsh’ beauty advice
Ania Rucinski was feeling down on herself.
She’s fine-looking, she says, but friends are quick to imply that she doesn’t measure up to her boyfriend — a “godlike” hottie. She adds that those same people wouldn’t tell her how to make herself more attractive. Rucinski turned to ChatGPT, a bot, to get the cold hard truth. She told the bot that she was tired of being the one who is less attractive and asked what she could change to make herself look better. It said her face would benefit from curtain bangs.
“People filter things through their biases and bring their own subjectivity into these sorts of loaded questions,” said Rucisnki, who lives in Sydney. ChatGPT provides a level objectivity that is impossible to achieve in real life. In a new use case, users upload their photos and ask it to give them unbiased assessments of their appearance. They then share the results via social media. The bot can also help people “glow up” or improve their looks. The bot has recommended products ranging from hair dyes to Botox, according to users. Some people say they have spent thousands of dollars following the artificial intelligence’s suggestions.
The trend highlights people’s willingness to rely on chatbots not just for information and facts, but for opinions on highly subjective topics such as beauty. AI responses are perceived as being more neutral by some users, but experts claim that these tools have hidden biases based on their training data and their maker’s financial incentives. Chatbots could also encourage consumers to spend more as AI companies begin offering shopping and product recommendations. Forrester commerce analysts Emily Pfeiffer and Michael Pfeiffer say that AI “echoes” what is seen online and many of the products are designed to make consumers feel bad about themselves. She recently asked the bot to give her honest feedback about how she could be more attractive. Drew said that the bot gave her suggestions on how to improve her skin, hair and lashes. It also suggested makeup, clothes, and brows. Drew has spent about $200 so far. But coming from ChatGPT, which Drew refers to with “she” pronouns, the whole thing feels more palatable.
“Today I asked about whitening my teeth, and she was like, ‘Make sure your dental hygiene is good,’ and I was like, ‘Damn, girl,'” Drew said. Nobody else would say that to me. She said that Internet-era beauty standards turn the self into an object, and what better way to evaluate an object than by asking another (AI-powered) object? Internet-era beauty standards turn the self into an object, she said, and what better way to evaluate an object than by asking another (AI-powered) object?
“If we’re trying to optimize ourselves as beautiful objects, we can’t consider the input of a human who is, say, in love with us,” DeFino said.
When bots give advice, who’s really talking?
OpenAI said this month that it’s updating ChatGPT to show products — including images, details and links — when users appear to be shopping. Tech and beauty experts warn that bots’ suggestions are aimed at the maker, not the users. Perplexity AI, for example, has already integrated a shopping function into its chatbot interface. Beauty is also the third most searched category according to a spokesperson. For example, the bot might pull ideas from an expert YouTube makeup influencer, or a malicious Reddit thread. She said that because its training data is so vast and opaque, the bot becomes vulnerable to bias and mistakes. The bot is vulnerable to biases and mistakes because its training data are so large and opaque. Instead of sifting though dozens of Reddit posts or YouTube videos to find the best anti-aging product, shoppers could tell the bot they’re tired of dark circles under their eyes and want something that will help. A commenter said the bot rated their attractiveness on a 10-point scale.
“It told me I am mid and could go from a five to a seven with the help of makeup and fillers,” they said. A commenter said the bot rated their attractiveness on a 10-point scale.
“It told me I am mid and could go from a five to a seven with the help of makeup and fillers,” they said.
While ChatGPT maker OpenAI doesn’t publicly share what data its AI systems are trained on, the training data probably includes online forums where people rank other people’s attractiveness (largely men rating women), such as the subreddit r/RateMe or the website Hot or Not, said Alex Hanna, director of research at the Distributed AI Research Institute.
While the training data contains diverse ideas, chatbots tend to veer toward the most common threads — such as the conviction that women need to constantly improve their looks, Hanna said.
“We’re automating the male gaze,” added Emily Bender, a computational linguist who specializes in generative AI and co-author alongside Hanna of the book “The AI Con.”
OpenAI spokeswoman Leah Seay Anise said the company has teams working to reduce bias in its models. She refused to confirm whether ChatGPT technology is based on content that rates attractiveness. She said that the shopping features were new and are still being fine-tuned. Some users already rely on chatbots to provide companionship and have discussions similar to mental health therapy. Sometimes, all people want is a sounding board that doesn’t come with its own share of human messiness.
Users who asked ChatGPT for feedback on their looks said they were happy with the results, even when the bot pointed out perceived imperfections. Michaela Lassig (39), a woman from Washington State, asked ChatGPT for help in achieving flawless, youthful skin. She also provided her budget ($2,500) and timeline. In her prompt, she told the bot her goals (flawless, youthful skin), her budget ($2,500) and her timeline.
“Ideally, you will give me a list of procedures or services and tell me when to do them for the best skin and face I can have by July 16,” she prompted the bot.
It spat out a detailed list of the signs of aging on her face. Lassig said she was careful to focus on her personal skin goals rather than some universal standard. Lassig said she was careful in wording her prompt to focus on her personal skin goals rather than some universal standard.
Haley Andrews, 31, wanted the unfiltered truth about her looks and “wasn’t looking for nice.” She always appreciated how her older sister gave criticism without sugarcoating, so she went to the bot with a special request.
“I told it, ‘Please speak like an older sister who tells the truth because she loves you and wants the absolute best for you, even though it’s a little harsh,” Andrews said.
It told her that her eyebrows were thinning and her complexion fell flat without blush.
“It was so spot-on,” she said.
