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AI-generated images often reproduce unrealistic ideals of thinness and muscularity.

Athletes are portrayed as leaner and more muscular than nonathletes across AI platforms.

AI can shape body image unless designers prioritize diversity and realistic representation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way we create and consume images. Need a photograph of an athlete for a presentation? AI can produce one in seconds. Looking for a fitness model for a social media post? AI can generate an endless stream of attractive faces and sculpted physiques without involving a single real person.

While this technology is remarkable, the psychology behind it is more troubling.

Many people assume that AI creates something entirely new. In reality, today's image generators learn from millions of existing images found across the internet. If those images reflect society's biases, AI often amplifies them rather than correcting them. That raises an important question: What kind of "ideal body" is AI learning to create?

A new study published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media by Delaney E. Thibodeau of the University of Toronto and her colleagues provides an unsettling answer.

AI Learns Our Beauty Standards

The researchers generated 300 images using three of the best-known AI image platforms—MidJourney, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E. They asked each system to produce full-body images of male athletes, female athletes, men, women, and generic athletes without specifying age, race, ethnicity, or other physical characteristics.

The researchers then carefully coded every........

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