Hijab-wearing Moroccan Kenza Layli crowned 'Miss AI' in virtual beauty pageant

A digitally generated Moroccan 'influencer' has been crowned as the world’s first-ever Miss AI 2024 in a virtual beauty pageant. Kenza Layli, a hijab-wearing "influencer", beat fellow AI-generated competition from the likes of France and Portugal among 1,500 AI-generated contestants to win the title, plus a prize-money of $20,000. The AI influencer was created by Meriam Bessa at Moroccan media agency L’Atelier Digital & AI, based in the country’s largest city Casablanca. Bessa said she had utilised technologies to generate her image, video, and audio content entirely from AI. On Instagram celebrating her win, Kenza Layli posted multiple images of herself draped in a gold-sequined dress, adorned with a sash and a crown. Through her outreach to over 197,000 social media subscribers in seven languages - including her native Moroccan Arabic dialect - Layli promotes cultural diversity, women’s empowerment, environmental awareness, and the responsible use of AI technology. The artificial intelligence beauty contest was introduced by the World AI Creator Awards earlier this year. Yet Kenza Layli’s victory as Miss AI comes as experts have warned about the potential dangers posed by the rise of artificial intelligence in several fields and the objectification of women.