SheerLuxe fiasco | AI employee bashed by readers, but Steven Bartlett says mag's staff should be given a raise

The online lifestyle, fashion, and beauty magazine SheerLuxe has come under scrutiny over the last week for ‘hiring’ their first AI (artificial intelligence) employee, Reem, as Fashion Lifestyle Editor.

The new member of the team was announced on Instagram with an image of herself - a tan, attractive woman with an impeccable fashion sense. Although Reem’s ethnicity wasn’t revealed, SheerLuxe said the AI company that developed her was based in the Middle East, and so her look reflected this.

Reem is like any high-flying fashion and beauty journalist, complete with her own Instagram account where she posts photos of herself and the brands she’s wearing. But, of course, she isn’t real, so her accounts are managed by the actual team members at SheerLuxe.

However, what may have seemed a clever and ‘of the time’ marketing strategy wasn’t as welcomed by SheerLuxe’s readers as they might have expected.