[Essay]
Rich Actresses Are Pushing AI
June brought a strange new chapter in the ongoing PR effort to pinkwash AI. Trae Stephens, Silicon Valley venture capitalist and co-founder of AI defense company Anduril Industries, joined Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop podcast for an hour-long conversation about the divisiveness of modern politics, faith, and the Pope saying the war in Iran is evil.
You might wonder why a famous actor and wellness influencer invited a Peter Thiel acolyte whose company has a $20 billion counter-drone contract with the government on for a soft-focus chat.
The answer, according to Paltrow, is that she’s on a quest to connect with people with whom she may disagree. “I am trying to, in my journey through being an American right now, trying to, I don’t know, I guess sort of weave together lots of different points of view,” she said, “and also to get out of that place of, like, righteousness and anger and fear.” (Paltrow insists she is “not a Republican” and identifies as “completely an independent.” Cue the White Lotus memes).
But Paltrow is not the only blonde celebrity who wants us — and, specifically, her female audience — to open up to the idea of AI. Last month, actor Reese Witherspoon hopped on Instagram while making a smoothie to urge women to start using the technology so they don’t get left behind and to “make our everyday lives easier and better.”
Taylor Lorenz of Power User and Francesca Fiorentini of The Bitchuation Room both did smart podcast episodes questioning what’s going on with this “girlboss-ification of AI.”
As Lorenz put it, “AI is suddenly being sold to women, especially mothers and teen girls, as helpful, creative and aesthetic tools that can be woven seamlessly into everyday life. The goal is to shift perception of AI from existential risk and labor displacement towards AI as a lifestyle accessory that aids in self-expression and convenience.”
There’s a weirdly patronizing, faux feminist, “hey ladies” vibe to the messaging. Women are simultaneously encouraged to get on the AI bandwagon or risk losing out to job automation, or told ChatGPT is just a handy way for busy moms to recipe-plan for the week and that Claude allows teen girls to experiment with their personal style by picking out their outfits. The founders of these companies aren’t just out to make a profit off their ties to the Pentagon; they’re relatable podcast guests who worry about their kids’ personal safety and identify “most centrally” as a Midwesterner who grew up “in a lower-middle class household,” as Stephens told Paltrow. But there is of course a profit motive in marketing to women: new tech only takes off after women adopt it en masse. As Lorenz points out, that’s what happened with Spotify, Facebook, the iPod and iPhone, and fitness trackers. These services and products went from being niche, nerdy and primarily used by male tech enthusiasts to popular aesthetic and social platforms and devices used by much of the population after the companies started explicitly marketing to women.
There are legitimate reasons why women have been slower to adapt to AI. Women, who disproportionately bear the impact of environmental issues, are more concerned about the environmental and health harms caused by data centers. Research indicates they are also skeptical about the economic and employment benefits of AI, and are more likely to work in the service industry and in administrative and clerical roles that are disproportionately likely to be replaced by AI.
Those are the kinds of associations the industry is trying to shake. So don’t be surprised the next time a rich white woman celebrity shows up in your feed urging you to give AI another chance.