This was such a great read. I’ve played with AI stuff a bit—mostly just to analyze my makeup, like really zoom in and see where I’m going wrong, or to get ideas for dressing better with my body type—but nothing near what you’ve done. It’s wild what’s possible now.

Totally felt the part where you talked about chasing perfection and getting sucked into it. I’ve had that same “oh god what am I doing” moment too. I still think real photos feel more honest, but I get the appeal of the fantasy.

And I really loved your take on using AI for art instead. That feels way more fun and way less like you’re trying to convince yourself of something that isn’t real, you know?

Thanks for being so real about it all. Seriously. Made me feel seen.

— Michelle

yeah, it’s peculiar! Honestly, I was so addicted while I was doing it – I’m glad I pulled away, because it’s a deep well that’s easy to get lost in. I expect the technology will only get better, which will make people’s mental health only get worse :/ I guess it’s a new reality we need to figure out how to live with, but we’re still pretty far away from that, I think.

Jenna! Thank you so much for reading! <3
I posted some of these pictures, clearly labelled as AI generated, to Instagram, and a lot of the responses was "you're beautiful!" which... is kind of exactly the problem It's not real, it's not a compliment to me. There's not even an artist involved, so it's not a compliment to anyone!

It's funny - over the last few weeks this experience has actually made me so much more appreciative of real art and real artists. I do believe that there's a real use for tools like these, but I also think (or hope, I guess) that there'll be a backlash over time, and a craving for real things.