SheerLuxe: Fashion magazine sparks backlash after featuring Arab woman AI as editor-in-chief

A British fashion and lifestyle magazine has found itself in the middle of a social media storm after introducing an AI with an Arabic name and appearance as its new editor-in-chief this week.

SheerLuxe shared photos of Reem, who they said was an AI-enhanced team member on their Instagram page in a post that included an AI selfie with the editor, a snapshot of the day's outfit with tagged brands, Reem's lunch, and a peek at the contents of her handbag and desk.

The online publication has faced fierce criticism from its audience, who have questioned the ethics of hiring an AI staff member at a time when journalists and other media professionals dealing with threats to their livelihoods through technology.

They also expressed frustration at what they called a deliberate choice to use the name and image of a woman of color in an industry where they are already underrepresented.

“This is incredibly bizarre and also insulting. This is basically taking away a job from an Arab woman when we are already underrepresented and/or misrepresented in the media,” one user commented under SheerLuxe’s post.

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While the company has not released a statement on the AI's ethnicity, the name Reem is Arabic and is commonly used in the Middle East and North Africa.

Another Instagram user said: “That's not it. Instead of hiring a real woman of color or a plus-size woman, you created a virtual one? Disappointing.”

Several commenters also said that introducing a perfect AI character sharing beauty and fashion advice was harmful to women and perpetuated “unachievable” beauty standards.

The wave of critical comments about the AI ​​forced the company to post an apology on its account, in which it defended its decision and said its audience had misunderstood the concept behind the Reem bot.

Reem was born entirely out of our desire to experiment with AI, not replace a human role, the company said in its statement, which had disabled the comments feature.

Her opinions and choices come directly from the diverse team we are so proud of at SheerLuxe. No jobs were compromised in any way as a result of her creation.

The magazine also explained why Reem had an Arabic name and likeness, explaining that it was designed with a Middle Eastern AI image maker.

Middle East Eye contacted SheerLuxe for comment and was directed to their Instagram statement.

Some audience members found this statement inadequate.

“I just read your apology for this (the one where you turned off comments, interesting?)… 'We didn't explain it well' is not an excuse,” one user said. “Educate yourself and be better. Don't try to excuse him and shut him down.”

“Leaving aside the fact that selecting a fake diverse and impossibly beautiful recruit is in very poor taste, why put your journalists in such danger?” asked another.

The bottom line is that your team has something an AI doesn't: human taste and individuality. That should be protected now. Sheerluxe seems to have become all about money lately. Really disappointing.”

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