Is Miss England’s AI round dangerous or progressive?

Miss England is controversial at the best of times, not least for its now-banned swimwear round.

Each year, models who make it to the semi-finals have to choose categories to compete in to secure a place in the final.

The choices include the Bare Face round, where contestants are judged on their looks without make-up, and the Talent round, in which they showcase a special skill.

Now, the pageant is causing a stir after introducing an AI round – in which contestants have to get as many bookings as they can for an AI-generated version of themselves.

Only three of the competition’s 32 semi-finalists have decided to enter. Many are unsure whether it would help or hinder their chances of winning a place in the final.

As part of the inaugural wildcard AI round, each model will work with a company to create their virtual, AI-generated avatar – and these will then be pitched to brands and agencies.

The model whose avatar secures the most commercial contracts will advance to the contest’s final round.

Jessica Pliskin, a 23-year-old physics masters graduate from the University of Bristol, was one of the three semi-finalists who chose the AI round.

She believes having an avatar will “help her progress” in the industry and she’s excited to watch its digital growth.

“The modelling industry is going to change, but I think that this is something that will help me,” she said.

“It will help me adapt to the industry, rather than trying to avoid it and then get lost.”

Many others in the industry do not share her optimism. Model Harriet Webster said that the use of AI by models was dangerous and erased the real person.

Ms Webster, also a press officer for Mentor Model Agency in Sheffield, said: “These clones take away a model’s personality – I think there’s something quite scary about it.

“Instead of it [modelling] being an inclusive thing, it erases real people.”

She continued: “Creating AI models means there will be less [real] models in the industry – if people are making models through AI, why would they pay real people for work?

“You can see how they would choose it over a real person – it’s a very easy option.”

The semi-finalists this year were able to compete in as many of the nine optional rounds as they wish.

Initially, five contestants chose the AI round, but two withdrew. One reportedly dropped out after friends and family warned them about the dangers of AI.

Angie Beasley, director of Miss England, said the AI round was created to reflect the digital world, build contestants’ digital literacy and offer entrepreneurial avenues.

She said: “[It will] continue the pageant’s progressive evolution, moving from general beauty standards to meaningful, empowering formats.”

The director said the nine rounds were similar year on year – but the most unpopular rounds were “ditched”, such as the swimwear category, which was dropped in 2009 following criticism that it put too much focus on women’s bodies.

Ms Beasley said: “Each round is designed to test a different strength, ensuring the winner is a modern ambassador for England who reflects the Miss World motto ‘beauty with a purpose’.”

Phoebe Michaelides, 27, another Miss England semi-finalist, said she had dropped out of the AI round to focus on a charity-themed category.

“I respect they’re bringing AI into pageantry,” she said. “But it’s in its early stages at the moment and there may be some teething problems there.

“It’s quite early for me to know whether it would be a positive representation of myself, as someone in the early stages of creating a personal brand.

“You hear about deep-fakes and how AI can be used against people.

“I just feel, personally, at the heart of pageantry is authenticity. I want people to connect with me as I am.”

The Miss England AI round was introduced before an AI model was featured in a Guess advert in the August print edition of US Vogue.

Seraphinne Vallora is the company behind the controversial advert, which makes both AI avatars of real people and AI-created models.

Its founders, Valentina Gonzalez and Andreea Petrescu, said this was “innovation” in action.

“We could never stop progress, and we can never stop innovation,” Ms Gonzalez said.

“Just like the creation of the internet and everything else, we’re going to have to accept it at some point.”

Vogue previously said that it had not made an editorial decision in this case as it was an advert, but declined to respond further.

Guess has been approached by the BBC for comment.

Ms Pliskin, who has been modelling for four years, said she worked with AI company MirrorMe for hours to create two short videos, which are being used to make her avatar.

The contestant will also receive business training on how to best market the digital double.

She said MirrorMe “have to ask if they want to use it for anything”.

“We get paid 10% of whatever they get from it,” she said.

“It’s a big thing to sign for sure, but I’m working in the modelling industry now – that’s how I get work.”

John Allard, the owner of AI company MirrorMe, said he had “a business model that respects talent”.

The contestants taking part in the Miss England AI round will have a reduced fee for the creation of their avatar.

While avatars have been used within the modelling world for some time, the use of AI makes these digital clones appear more lifelike.

“It’s part science and part art,” Mr Allard said. “We know what people should look like and sound like if they’re performing well.

“We sample the model [on video] very closely and then we craft with all the best tools the tone, the voice, the expression – we can control hand gestures, the excitement or tone of the voice – and this is a whole knew form of editing.”

The semi-finalists will hold a contract with both MirrorMe and Miss England for a year – with the remainder of any earnings from booking contracts in this period going to the two companies.

After the year ends, the contestant can either keep on working with MirrorMe or buy the full rights to their avatar account – which are currently shared between the model and the company.

Mr Allard said this arrangement was “typical” and that the appropriate laws were being followed, including GDPR.

He also said the agreement was fair, allowing models to have a “side income alongside the real photography and real video work that they have”.

“This gives them an opportunity to spread their wings, not be exploited, control things and work in partnership – nothing gets out there unless they’re happy with the use of their image,” he continued.

“We are pioneers in a fair, new compliant regulatory model.”

Miss England contestants will have until 3 October, the date of the semi-finals in Wolverhampton, to get as many contracts as possible for their avatar.

Ms Pliskin said: “It’s actually quite a lot of work that you’re doing yourself outside of the competition. It’s two months of hard graft.”

Trade union Equity, which represents models, said it advocated for an artist-centred approach to AI which “safeguards their rights, including intellectual property and copyright”.

It added: “Consent, transparency and fair remuneration for the artists whose image or performance is being used must be at the heart of the approach to AI.”

Once the avatar is created, businesses can use it to promote their brand in multiple languages, across unlimited campaigns, without the need to hire other workers, including lighting experts, make-up artists or camera crews

Media and entertainment trade union Bectu said models were not the only workers affected by AI.

Philippa Childs, head of Bectu, said: “It is hard to see how using this technology will not have a significant detriment to other fashion creatives and industry workers, from make-up and hair, to rigging and lights.”