For women, viral AI-polaroid trend ‘is that deep’

A recent trend involving AI-generated polaroid images has gained popularity online, featuring individuals with their childhood selves or significant others who have passed away. These images aim to evoke nostalgia and create sentimental memories, making them appealing to users.

Anum, a 23-year-old, expressed her emotional response after generating an image with her late father, highlighting the trend’s capacity to soften grief. While digitally manipulating images is not new, the context changes depending on gender; images involving women are often perceived as serious and can lead to reputational consequences.

Amnah Farooqi, a Karachi-based psychologist, noted that when images feature men, they are usually taken lightly, but for women, the scrutiny can be harsher due to societal norms surrounding honor and shame. This concern is amplified in South Asia, where manipulated images can spread rapidly via messaging apps before the individuals depicted are even aware, leading to potential reputational damage.

There are also concerns about the long-term implications of sharing such images. Mohammad Salik, a software engineer, indicated that uploaded images may become part of large datasets used for AI models, raising risks of identity theft and unauthorized surveillance. A recent review in Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence highlighted the dangers associated with storing biometric data.

Some individuals are reconsidering their online presence; Sana, 20, mentioned that she has stopped posting selfies due to concerns about losing control over her image.