How Are Algorithms Changing Our Beauty Standards? - Terms of Service with Clare Duffy - Podcast on CNN Audio

CNN

13-05-2025

Clare Duffy
00:00:01
Welcome to another episode of Terms of Service. I'm Clare Duffy. Today's episode is about how our digital culture is reshaping our concept of beauty. If you've spent time on TikTok, you've almost certainly seen some of the beauty trends or the scary good AI filters that can change your face from any angle. Now, I'm not a huge TikTok user, but I decided to try out some of these filters for myself.
CNN Soundbite
00:00:27
Okay, so I've got it on the selfie camera. I'm pulling up the bold glamor filter. Woah, I look very smooth. I feel like my eyes look bigger than they normally are. I'm gonna try another beauty filter. Like immediately the look of your face changes. It's showing sort of like a distortion of what your face looks like plus makeup. You can't tell that there's a filter on. Like even if I wave my hand in front of my face, this makes me look like I have a whole lot of blush on and also like I suddenly have someone else's tiny nose.
Clare Duffy
00:01:06
'It's fun to play around with these filters, but this isn't just about seeing yourself differently in a video. For many people, what they see in their feeds can lead to a feeling of pressure to purchase cosmetic products or surgically alter their bodies. And it's helping to drive strong growth in the cosmetic procedure market, which is projected to reach over $4 billion by 2033. South Korea has long been at the forefront of this market. To better understand how AI and algorithms are changing global beauty standards, I spoke to Elise Hu. Elise is a journalist and author of "Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital". Hi, Elise.
Elise Hu
00:01:52
Hi there, thanks for having me.
Clare Duffy
00:01:53
Thanks for doing this. So we'll dig into this more deeply, but broadly speaking, how have recent developments in technology and social media changed what we consider to be beautiful?
Elise Hu
00:02:06
Well, broadly speaking, everything that we see, watch, read, and share, and wear, kind of help dictate in large part how we internalize and project what we're worth. So two developments worth noting in terms of how digital culture is dictating our physical standards. One is that AI is really fast improving filters. Filters are now so good that it's nearly impossible to tell when people are using them in some cases. And it's really increasing the pressure to have a flawless canvas on which to wear makeup. The other major way that AI and developments in improving our filters has changed the game is that the trends are changing so much faster, right? A TikTok trend will last what, a week when it comes to a song to lipsync to or dances, and that's now happening with bodies and hair. So, a trend like, um...having baby hairs was really big in South Korea last year, like actually cutting baby hair, which is like new hair growth at the base of your scalp. That lasted for, I don't know, two or three weeks, a moment.
Clare Duffy
00:03:16
Oh my gosh and then you're probably so sad that you've cut your baby hair once the trend moves on.
Elise Hu
00:03:21
Exactly. And then, or having freckles or actually drawing on freckle, you know, that will be a trend for a mere moment. But crucially, these are our bodies. You know, we can't change them like we change our clothes. So it's pretty wild that these trends are happening so fast and require physical changes.
Clare Duffy
00:03:39
Our listeners have probably heard of the male gaze or the female gaze, but you also talk about the technological gaze. Will you define that, how you think about what that is?
Elise Hu
00:03:50
'The technological gaze or the artificial gaze is how we're performing for the machine. So it's the idea of doing it for the algorithm and internalizing what the algorithm sends us and then wanting to do what seems to be most engaging. It's a self-policing gaze, it's very narcissistic and it posits our bodies as projects. You could end up having to work on your body forever. And so it's quite exhausting as well. But I do think the technological gaze is informed by the male gaze, of course, right? Because there's people who are programming our platforms in the first place. The technological gaze is really insidious because we are absorbing it and then feeding back into it all of us who live in digital culture are having to perform in one way or another and surveil ourselves.
Clare Duffy
00:04:42
In your book, you use South Korea as sort of a launch point to examine evolving beauty standards and the ways that people can sort of hack their own looks to fit those standards. What are some of the factors that you think put South Korea at kind of the forefront of this?
Elise Hu
00:04:58
'South Korea was the first place that I heard the term specs, like tech specs, used on people, right? So when I had heard specs before, it was like how much memory in your computer, right, or your device, but in South Korea, humans, people would use specs to talk about like their BMI or their hair or their cup size of their bra. And it was...really crazy to think of kind of the optimization idea in tech actually transfer to people. How it got there? Well, one, South Korea is the capital of cosmetic surgery globally. It developed a world-class cosmetic surgery industry in the 1990s and has only improved from there. So it's where you go for the most cutting edge new procedures and to get procedures lighter, faster, quicker and cheaper. Two, the country relies on exports for its economy and now cosmetics and skincare are a major export of South Korea. I mean, South Korea is now exporting more in cosmetics and skin care than it is in smartphones, which is kind of crazy to think about because it's the home of Samsung.
Clare Duffy
00:06:11
What were some of the other sort of striking things you found in your research and your experience living there in terms of these body optimization trends?
Elise Hu
00:06:21
'So, South Korea is very good at two forms of tech that I write about. One is this self-surveillance technology, which is visual culture and digital culture. There's just screens everywhere. In a way that was even surprising to me, having spent time in places like Times Square, where we're used to a lot of images and ads. It's like that, but every corner of every street that you're on. When you are constantly seeing images of what you're supposed to look like, there is that sense of like, hey, do I measure up? Am I good enough? And then it's also very good at self-improvement technology. So like bodily modification, right? Medical advancements, cosmetic procedures, fillers, injectables, and the biotech to actually change ourselves. So not only are they able to like show you yourself all the time and tell you like, hey this is what you're supposed to look like and this is how you don't measure up. They're also able to sell you on the idea of this is how you could change yourself, like these are the procedures that you could get. These are the products that you can buy in order to optimize. So that kind of was really stunning to me. And I'm rather dismayed, you know, at the speed at which everybody else in the Western world or in the developed world has become like South Korea.
Clare Duffy
00:07:40
Elise writes in her book about how cosmetic surgeons are now using algorithms to suggest procedures to clients. And that requires providing a bunch of data to a machine to teach it what qualifies as an ideal face.
Elise Hu
00:07:54
'In South Korea, it's a lot of images and video of Asian women. So it starts with standards like K-pop idols, which are considered like the epitome of Asian beauty. So it's lot of image of celebrities. There's after photos of their own clients. And these like imaging machines analyze everything from like the space between your eyes or the ratio of your forehead to the middle of your face, to your chin, they'll analyze symmetry and try and get at an ideal median. The effect is just to lay some scientific claim, right, to what it is that we find attractive rather than letting individuals decide for themselves. And these attempts to make algorithms or data or like use the language of all of that to say what is beautiful actually leans towards sameness rather than difference.
Clare Duffy
00:08:57
Right. I wonder, too, as social media makes us all across the globe more connected and we see this sort of flattening of culture in many ways, do you also see that, you know, showing up in terms of what people around the world think of as the ideal face?
Elise Hu
00:09:14
Yeah, what I found in my research is that there's a real globalization of beauty standards because we're all on the same internet or using similar platforms. And so it's like a mix and match of ideals. And so there's like this real amalgamation, mixing and matching of parts that are desirable in different parts of the world, which is to say it requires a lot of intervention to actually achieve that. This kind of mixing and matching and frankensteining of bodies doesn't tend to naturally occur. So it does require spending money and so much labor to arrive at it, which then gets to a lot of the consumerism that's driving this.
Clare Duffy
00:09:59
Social media users don't have to imagine what they'd look like with other features. It's right there in the filters. When you can change your appearance with a click of a button, it could make you want to change your appearance in real life too.
Elise Hu
00:10:12
'I mean there's a real normalization of plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures now, even among really young people, right? Like, I think it makes us want to change our physical bodies faster than before because we can change our filters with the click of a button. And so now it's like, why not fix my forehead creases with a quick appointment, for example, right. And the increase of this self-surveillance with selfies and filters and social media can really directly translate to the desire to improve ourselves. And there's just like the sense, I think, in so much of our culture, just about quick fixes generally, like I want it fast! I want now! Even though I don't think there's enough interrogation of what we're trying to optimize towards.
Clare Duffy
00:11:03
When I see conversations about this sort of thing on social media, I feel like there's often this tension of like, everyone should do what works for them and whatever makes them feel good, but then also the sense that we should accept and love ourselves the way that we are. How do you make sense of that tension?
Elise Hu
00:11:21
I think it's an illusion of choice, this idea that it's like, oh, it's empowering to be able to make all these consumer choices. But our choices are so limited by, you know, the larger choice architects that are teaching us what we can choose from. And I worry that we are too limited in our idea of who we can be and what we look like and ultimately our looks matter in our culture and in our economy way too much, especially for women.
Clare Duffy
00:11:55
Does being a mom to daughters change how you think about this issue?
Elise Hu
00:11:59
'Yeah, I think it did. I lived in South Korea for nearly four years and I have three daughters total. I gave birth to two of them there. And my oldest one was like, you know, out and about and in the world. I was at a kid cafe with her and another mom, a Korean mom actually asked me if my three-year-old daughter had eyelash extensions. And I was sort of like aghast.
Clare Duffy
00:12:27
Wow.
Elise Hu
00:12:27
Yeah, it was astonishing that she would even presume that that could be a thought that crossed my mind or labor that I would put my daughter through. But that was really a wake up call to me about the pressures to look hyper feminine and to look a certain way and for women to to perform ourselves, even as little girls.
Clare Duffy
00:12:51
'This technology affects all of us and our ideas about self-improvement. So how can you figure out how to engage with it in a way that feels right for you? That's after the break.
Clare Duffy
00:13:09
We've talked a lot about women, and obviously women often face sort of the lion's share of pressure when it comes to our physical appearance, but do men also have to navigate, in particular, the sort of algorithmically promoted standards for beauty or looks?
Elise Hu
00:13:24
Oh, more and more so too, especially because men are spending so much time online. There's the trend on TikTok of 'looksmaxxing' and that's 'looksmaxxing' for dudes. And it's a lot of emphasis on muscles and just getting really cut or lean or swole, whatever the bodily trend is, but it tends to be like very little body fat and a lot muscles. Right? And then there's a lot of pressure on their jawline.
Clare Duffy
00:13:54
The jawline thing...
Elise Hu
00:13:54
And what the ideal jawline is, but that's exactly the kind of ratio language that's used by cosmetic surgery places in Korea about like this is the one to one to negative one ratio that is the most ideal. And so all of us come under the technological gaze. It is not just women who have to bear it. It's just that women traditionally have been so judged on looks and nothing else. And have had to prove ourselves, whereas men's power and place in society has tended to be assumed.
Clare Duffy
00:14:29
What do you see in the future for AI and beauty? Where do you think this is all going?
Elise Hu
00:14:36
Oh gosh, I worry we're in a body augmentation arms race, right? Kind of like a nuclear arms race because if we are chasing cyborgian standards of beauty, then the limit does not exist. There is no limit, right. We only have to do more and continually change ourselves more often and at faster rates and stay kind of forever smooth, forever somewhere between the age of 18 and 35. We're just not letting our bodies evolve as they evolve or celebrating the fact that they do and that that's natural and beautiful and so we end up having to do a lot of work on ourselves rather than seeing the collective change that I'd love to see from companies and from maybe even regulation when it comes to like what youth are exposed to.
Clare Duffy
00:15:28
'Something that you talk about in your book is the distinction between self-care and actual care, and I wonder where you draw that line in your own life and how you would suggest other people think about sort of differentiating what might be called self- care online and what actually feels good for them.
Elise Hu
00:15:45
'Yeah, yeah, self-care has really kind of lost meaning as a term because it's so overused and it's like baked into consumerist ideals, right? Like bath bombs and getting facials and things that are indulgent and feel good, but require spending money. And what I'd really love to return to is a kind of self- care that nourishes our souls, you know, that is soul driven rather than ego driven. So for me, I kind of ask myself before I get a product or try out a procedure or whatever it is, am I doing this because it's a deeper step into myself? Like I will be more Elise by doing this? Or is this, am I engaging in this because I'm looking over my shoulder and I'm comparing myself to other people and I am trying to keep up? And I think we all have souls, right, inside us that know the difference. That know like, hey, I'm gonna be more Elise by doing this and it will feel good, like irrespective of how it looks on my body. So it's like the feeling after you exercise and workout, like without any sort of esthetic end, like not because you're trying to get lean or whatever. That feeling can be a deeper step into yourself. But then like, if I am feeling bad about myself because a bunch of people in my like mom community are doing all this work and like getting a bunch of lip filler, let's say, and then I feel the need to get lip filler. Then I think that that would be a decision that was largely like ego driven. And so I just try and really ask myself and interrogate myself to figure out the difference. You know, I know that we're not going to give up our beauty indulgences, right? And so I want to be clear that I'm not about giving up the things that make us feel good every once in a while. I just do think that there is an overemphasis on our appearances as our whole sense of selves, right? And so I think that we really need to do the work of separating our bodies, you know, and who we are and what they look like from what our worth and value is as human beings.
Clare Duffy
00:18:00
Yeah. You mentioned also that this is a space that perhaps could be more tightly regulated. Do you have a sense of what you'd like to see?
Elise Hu
00:18:09
When I interview folks who do a lot of research in this space, they talk about how like, well, the cat's out of the bag. There really needs to be regulation on AI and around the fact that the people who have kind of released this generative AI technology into the world have now lost control over what it's doing and how it's going stuff.
Clare Duffy
00:18:34
Yeah.
00:18:34
And so I think there definitely needs to be a larger conversation about like the ethics of AI, where they're getting data, who is being modeled. When you do a search for the perfect male body, for example, that perfect male is white. It is muscly. Like if it's bad data in, then it's data out. And so like there needs to be obviously much better understanding of what's happening in the world of technology from our leaders. But, what we have seen time and time again is that regulation is like 10 years behind the technology.
Clare Duffy
00:19:11
Right, yeah.
Elise Hu
00:19:11
'And so, while yes, I do think that tech is like the most under-regulated industry that has a profound impact on society, I also don't know that our governments are learning enough to do anything about it. So I'm just calling in general for far more understanding of ethics in this technology so that smart policy can be designed. And not for a specific policy.
Clare Duffy
00:19:35
Yeah, it's such a good point. I mean, just sort of like something that perhaps we could all be asking for, not just regulators, is that transparency around if these systems are going to be setting beauty standards, whether we like it or not, how can we understand better how they're trained and what information, what kind of inputs they're getting, that get us there. Well, Elise, thank you so much for doing this.
Elise Hu
00:20:00
Thank you.
Clare Duffy
00:20:00
'If you want to hear more from Elise, she hosts the TED Talks Daily Podcast, and you can also catch her on NPR. If you're overwhelmed by the beauty rat race, here are some things to keep in mind: First, beauty standards change, and these days, it happens fast. Remember that these trend cycles are often designed to drive consumption. So, you don't have to give up things that make you feel good. But if you want to try a new procedure or buy a new product ask yourself why. Is it to feel more like yourself? Or is it to keep up with the latest trends? Next, remember that beauty filters are everywhere online. So think twice before comparing yourself to people you see on the internet. Finally, what you decide is beautiful is just that, a personal decision. You don't need to engage in the beauty market in order to feel beautiful. And there is beauty in difference. Thanks for listening to this episode of Terms of Service. If you have any questions about the technology showing up in your life, get in touch. Send us an email at [e-mail]. I'm Clare Duffy. Talk to you next week.
Clare Duffy
00:21:16
Terms of Service is a CNN Audio and Goat Rodeo production. This show is produced and hosted by me, Clare Duffy. At Goat Rodeo, the lead producer is Rebecca Seidel, and the executive producers are Megan Nadolski and Ian Enright. The producer for this episode is Jay Venables. At CNN, Matt Martinez is our senior producer, and Dan Dzula is our technical director. Haley Thomas is senior producer of development. Steve Lickteig is the executive producer of CNN Audio. With support from Kyra Dahring, Emily Williams, Tayler Phillips, David Rind, Dan Bloom, Robert Mathers, Jamus Andrest, Nicole Pesaru, Alex Manasseri, Mark Duffy, Leni Steinhardt, Jon Dianora, and Lisa Namerow. Special thanks to Katie Hinman, David Goldman, and Wendy Brundige. Thank you for listening.