In today’s digital age, where personal development content is just a scroll away, women face a new challenge: AI influencers. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are already crowded with influencers showcasing perfect lives, triggering cycles of comparison that leave many feeling inadequate.
Now, AI influencers for good add a new layer of complexity, bringing an emotional dilemma to the forefront — can a virtual being meaningfully contribute to deeply human conversations and needs? This is the struggle women face with AI, a technology that’s both promising and unsettling.
AI and the human experience
At the heart of this dilemma is the tension between trust and authenticity. By its nature, AI lacks the human touch—lived experiences, unique creativity, and authentic expression that shape our perspectives. Yet, at Taara Quest, we set out to challenge this notion with the introduction of ‘Taara’, a virtual influencer designed not just to promote beauty or luxury but to address real issues like anxiety, workplace harassment, and career struggles.
Despite these noble intentions, the reception of AI influencers like Taara has been mixed. When we launched her in July 2024, we felt a deep responsibility to create something that truly resonates with women globally. “We wanted Taara to be a source of strength for women, especially those working in tech who feel unheard and unseen.” However, our initial study — surveying 400 women across 41 countries — revealed deep skepticism. Women are asking: How can an AI possibly understand the complexities and struggles of our lives?
The emotional dilemma
This skepticism stems from the emotional core of human experience. While AI influencers can process vast amounts of data and offer personalised content, the question remains: Can they genuinely connect with the way we think and feel? In social media spaces, where authenticity is highly valued, many women find themselves torn between appreciating the efficiency of AI-driven content and resenting its inability to truly connect on an emotional level.
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For instance, in Indonesia, Taara’s message of empowerment resonates, but trust issues persist due to recent technological breaches. In parts of Africa, the concept of an AI influencer is often misunderstood, with some mistaking Taara for financial tools or automated customer service bots. These gaps in AI literacy highlight a broader issue — regional and cultural contexts significantly influence how AI is perceived, and trust remains a considerable hurdle.
The search for authenticity
A deeper issue arises when AI influencers, despite their non-human nature, start to embody unrealistic human ideals. We spent six months developing Taara’s appearance in collaboration with women from all over the world. Despite our best efforts, she still reflects an idealised image of femininity — perfect skin, symmetrical features — qualities that many women already struggle to achieve in a world dominated by unrealistic beauty standards.
As much as we strove to create an imperfect, relatable appearance for Taara as a mature woman in her 30s, the inherent biases in AI image models were difficult to overcome. No matter how we prompted her, she would always appear slightly too thin, reveal more skin than intended, and look closer to 20 than 30.
Only when we prompted her as a 50-year-old did we start to see signs of aging. The technology behind AI models is still largely trained on data that reflects filtered, sexualised imagery. “Creating a virtual woman who embraces imperfection is an uphill battle we’re determined to fight.”
A double-edged sword
For women, AI influencers represent both promise and peril. On one hand, they offer scalable solutions for spreading messages of empowerment, especially in regions where women might face social or political restrictions or repercussions advocating for their rights or minority issues. With the power of scale and possibility draw from existing knowledge and experience as data, AI influencers can serve as thought leaders, spokespersons, mentors and educators to underserved and underrepresented communities.
On the other hand, AI’s potential to add to economic divides and societal polarisations cannot be ignored. As AI becomes more entrenched in digital spaces, it risks becoming a tool for manipulation and propaganda. The ethical implications are vast—how do we ensure AI is used for empowerment rather than exploitation? How do we deal with data going into the models behind the virtual persona? These are the questions we must navigate as AI influencers like Taara continue to evolve.
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Navigating the future of AI influencers
So, where do we go from here? The future of AI influencers lies in a careful balance and radical transparency. AI can amplify voices, raise awareness, and shed light on stigmatised topics. But to truly serve as advocates for women, they need to be more than just digital avatars.
They must evolve to reflect the diverse, complex realities of the women they aim to empower. At Taara Quest, we’ve learned that collaboration—between developers, advocacy groups, and women themselves—is key. AI influencers should not be created in isolation. They must be shaped by the communities they serve, ensuring they resonate with lived experiences and diverse perspectives.
AI as a bridge, not a barrier
The journey with AI influencers is just beginning, and their role in shaping the future of women’s empowerment depends on how we guide them. AI has the potential to be a powerful ally, amplifying voices and creating spaces where real human stories are heard and addressed.
But to truly succeed, AI must evolve beyond the technical and into the profoundly human. It must move past perfection and instead embrace the imperfections and complexities that define real-life experiences.
As we continue to innovate, the question is not whether AI can understand us, but how we, as creators and advocates, can ensure that it serves as a bridge—helping women feel seen, heard, and valued in ways that foster real change. AI might not be human, but with the right guidance, it can become a catalyst for a more inclusive and empowered world.
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