Hello.
Chelsea Bonner has been a modelling agent for most of her career
after growing up in a celebrity family
where both parents were revered for their beauty.
Australian Story first met Chelsea eight years ago
when she was on a mission
to introduce more diversity into modelling.
But just when real inroads were being made,
Chelsea Bonner found a new battlefront opening up.
CHELSEA: What you're looking at here is all completely computer-generated.
So, this person does not exist at all.
I first came across artificial intelligence
probably 12 months ago, really.
It surprised me how easy it was, actually,
to find the information I needed to find
in order to learn how to make AI for myself.
With this app, you have to upload 15 to 30 photographs of yourself,
and I can go through to any of these packs that I want to
and I can go through to and make myself any of these images.
So, these are some of the images that I made of myself
from the featured theme pack, which is called Black Lace.
This is the body it's come up with for me.
This is the body So, this is the default.
That's not what I look like at all. That's not my body shape at all.
One of the most disturbing things that I noticed in my research
around women's images being used for AI purposes
around women's images being used is the heaviness of the male gaze.
It's sort of like the anime version
of what men think It's sort of like the anime version
of what men think women should look like.
So I...you know, to get the most realistic images of myself,
I have to go back in and prompt it to make it look more real.
So, that's my AI trained to be curvier
and to have more natural skin folds and things like that.
The last thing I ever thought I would ever be is an AI expert,
but I had to learn it in order to undo it.
So, trending now is black leather.
This is my Halloween outfit, maybe, this year.
This is my Halloween outfit, This new AI technology,
I really feel like it's taken us back 20 years,
because all the hard, HARD won fights we've had
to get to this point in time
where true inclusion is finally being represented,
where true inclusion and to have that overtaken now,
and not even not have real human diversity but no real humans,
is just...I can't even...it's a cataclysmic step backwards in time.
WOMAN: So, we'll do some nice, soft smiles to begin with.
Yeah, perfect, perfect.
That's nice.
(CHUCKLES) So gorgeous.
When I first started working in this industry,
When I first started there was no real inclusion at all.
Everybody that was supposed to be representative of society
was a 5'9" white, normally blonde, or maybe brunette, woman.
Yeah, lovely.
And they were always a size 8 to a maximum of size 10.
And they were always a size 8 I love that. Yes.
And over the last 20 years, we've made huge inroads
into size diversity, into ethnic inclusion,
into the use of models with different abilities and disabilities. into size diversity, into ethnic inclusion,
into the use of models with different abilities and disabilities.
What I think is so amazing
is that change happens from real people!
Yes. If you want to see change, you have to create it.
Yes. If you want to see change, Yes. Yes.
You can't just yell at other people Yes. Yes.
You can't just yell at other people to do it.
That's right. Sure.
WOMAN: Chelsea, she's always trying to fix things that are broken.
She's been put, you know, aside so often
'cause so often, you know, our bodies weren't shown in media. She's been put, you know, aside so often
'cause so often, you know, our bodies weren't shown in media.
'cause so often, you know, So often, we were shoved aside,
or so often, we were told that we were fat, basically.
I think together we've really changed that.
I think together Beautiful. Love. Gorgeous.
ROBYN: And yet we're going to this new territory
ROBYN: And yet we're going where we're not even...
We're gonna to be fighting to use a human being in a campaign.
That's gonna be the next fight.
VIDEO NARRATOR: Wait, stop! This girl does not exist. That's gonna be the next fight.
VIDEO NARRATOR: Wait, stop! This girl does not exist.
She is fake.
CHELSEA: So, when I first started looking into AI
CHELSEA: So, when I first in my industry specifically,
you know, I thought it would be in my industry specifically,
you know, I thought it would be about saving jobs,
and then I realised that it's just so much more than that.
and then I realised that Everybody is affected by this.
I could scan that now and train the AI on your face.
I mean, I could do a whole campaign in London
using your face and selling lipstick, and you'd probably never find out.
using your face and selling lipstick, My mum was a top model of her time.
She had a really, really good career
and, you know, she was always She had a really, really good career
and, you know, she was always really in demand.
and, you know, she was always WOMAN: That was one of my first.
How old were you? Um, about 19, I think.
I did my own make-up and hair for those.
Yeah.
Being on set for me Yeah.
Being on set for me is like a second home.
When I was a baby, Mum took me to all her shoots with her.
I used to take you with me in your little stroller.
I used to take you with me (CHUCKLES) Yeah.
And my dad was a really famous actor.
And as I got older, I went And my dad was a really famous actor.
And as I got older, I went to my dad's movie sets with him.
And as I got older, I went THEME MUSIC: # Skippy, Skippy... #
TONY BONNER: Back in that period,
Skippy was not only the biggest show in this country,
it was the most successful show internationally ever. Skippy was not only the biggest show in this country,
it was the most successful show internationally ever.
My parents were the golden couple of Australia
when I was growing up. My parents were the golden couple of Australia
when I was growing up.
They were on the cover of every magazine
and, you know, paparazzi followed them everywhere.
WOMAN: We used to call them 'Ken and Barbie'.
Couldn't get two more perfect-looking people, really.
It was, um, disturbing. (CHUCKLES) perfect-looking people, really.
It was, um, disturbing. (CHUCKLES)
And all the boys wanted to date my mum
and all the girls would just nearly faint when Dad walked into the room.
He could barely drop us at school, because he would get...
..parents would be, like, going, "Oh, my God! It's Tony Bonner!"
I think the strongest memory I have of my childhood
was waiting for the phone every afternoon.
One of my parents would have to be home between 4:30 and 5:30 every day
to get their call from their agents
so they knew what jobs they were doing next week, tomorrow.
And it was, like, all time stopped in that hour.
NOLA: Tony was always very, "Can't be on the phone.
"Who are you talking to?
"How long will you be? I'm waiting for a call." "Who are you talking to?
"How long will you be? I'm waiting for a call."
It could be the best news ever,
and then the whole house would be, you know, like, "Whoo-hoo!"
Or it could be, you know, really bad,
and that would totally change the mood in the house, you know?
So, I just...early on, I wanted to be the person
who was in control of that mood, I guess.
I knew very early on I wanted to be an agent.
I wanted to be the person that got to give the good news,
but I also wanted to be the person who could break the bad news gently,
'cause that was the hardest part.
According to the outside world, we were supposed to be
the perfect blond-haired, blue-eyed Australian family.
And it wasn't necessarily so, so you felt a bit deceitful.
No, no, no. Fill it up. Are you sure, son?
CHELSEA: Dad was a binge drinker, so he didn't drink daily,
CHELSEA: Dad was a binge drinker, but when he drank, he drank.
My drinking period DID affect the family,
My drinking period because I wouldn't be there.
I mean, if I could stay out, I did.
Dad was one of those drunks, you know, that...
..they call them blackout drunks - so, they do all these crazy things
and they have absolutely no memory of it.
SKYE: Everyone just played their role on how to handle it.
Chelsea took charge of looking after us, in a way.
She was just a peacemaker and she was the older sister
She was just a peacemaker and you felt safe.
Harry. (WHISTLES) Huggy!
CHELSEA: All credit to Dad, you know, he gave up drinking 27 years ago
CHELSEA: All credit to Dad, you know, and hasn't touched a drop since.
Yeah, so, what are you up to today? Oh, I'm teaching this afternoon.
CHELSEA: He's tried really hard to make amends,
and you have to admire someone who does that,
and you have to admire someone because a lot of people wouldn't.
But then, you know, you still... you're left with the battle scars.
But then, you know, you still... They're still there.
When puberty hit, just everything changed,
When puberty hit, because overnight I got these boobs.
Everything started to get much curvier than it was before,
and I started to notice a difference between my shape and Mum's shape.
And I remember looking at Chelsea one day and going, and I started to notice a difference between my shape and Mum's shape.
And I remember looking at Chelsea one day and going,
"Wow. Look at that figure." one day and going,
"Wow. Look at that figure."
She had the most beautiful hourglass figure.
I decided to go to an adult modelling agency
to see if they would take me.
I think that's when she realised
that there's an industry there that looks at you differently.
CHELSEA: And they said I was too curvy and needed to lose weight.
I think it was the first time you sort of have that realisation
that, "Oh, hang on, there's road blocks here."
Then other people started making comments about,
"Oh, you'd be so beautiful if you just lost a few pounds."
One night, I was walking down the street
and I was surrounded by a group of men
that just oinked at me, like I was a...
..you know, trying to say I'm a pig, I'm a fat pig, you know.
Just the judgement, just the amount of judgement,
Just the judgement, you know, and the comparison -
constant comparisons to my sister and my mum.
People's comments about my size started a cycle of...
People's comments about my size ..you know, of self-abuse, really -
abuse of food,
abuse of prescription drugs to, you know, help me starve myself.
I started drinking really young.
I left school at around 15.
I was just so angry. I was so angry at the situation, at the world.
And I remember being in tears with her so many times, I was just so angry. I was so angry at the situation, at the world.
And I remember being in tears with her so many times,
just like, "You're gonna die.
"You know, what are you doing to yourself?"
There was a moment in my life where I could have easily gone either way.
I woke up on the floor of my bathroom in the middle of winter
I woke up on the floor of my bathroom after drinking all night.
Just I really thought to myself, "This is ridiculous. Get it together.
"You know, you're not just hurting yourself,
"you're hurting everybody around you.
"you're hurting everybody "That is not who I want to be,
"and I am just going to find a way to make my life work."
After working really hard
and working every contact I had After working really hard
and working every contact I had and Mum had and Dad had,
I finally got a position as, you know, a junior in a modelling agency.
MAN: With any models, you need to be their psychologist,
you need to be their father, their mother,
and you need to be their business consultant as well.
It's a natural talent, and Chelsea has that natural talent. and you need to be their business consultant as well.
It's a natural talent, and Chelsea has that natural talent.
Good, beautiful. Yeah.
CHELSEA: So, through my job, I started to notice
there was a demand for bigger models, which are called 'plus-size' models,
there was a demand for bigger models, and that's anyone over a size 14.
It was really good money,
so I started doing some modelling on the side.
WOMAN: The sad thing about plus-size modelling back in those days
WOMAN: The sad thing about plus-size was you WERE the token fat chick.
You were only brought in because
you were big, you know? You were only brought in because
you were big, you know?
You weren't brought in because you were beautiful.
CHELSEA: I noticed there was a huge difference
CHELSEA: I noticed between how they would dress us
and how the size 6 girl sitting next to me, she would get made up between how they would dress us
and how the size 6 girl sitting next to me, she would get made up
to look all beautiful and fresh next to me, she would get made up
to look all beautiful and fresh
and young and glowy,
and I'd be made up to look as old and dowdy
and I'd be made up as I possibly could look! (LAUGHS)
REBECCA: And unfortunately, what they thought their target market was
REBECCA: And unfortunately, what was...skivvies.
CHELSEA: I decided to set up a modelling agency
for models who represent 80% of the women in this country -
so, models over a size 10.
Morning. ALL: Morning.
When almost every model is a size 6 to 8, maybe a 10,
When almost every model is it's a massive gap.
I don't think there's anything she can do...
My mission from the start has been to try to close that gap.
You know, I think there's room for everybody.
So, OK, so, they've moved that whole thing out till April now.
REBECCA: You know, she's been told so many times,
"It's not gonna happen.
"You'll never see a plus-size model, "It's not gonna happen.
"You'll never see a plus-size model, you know, having a hair contract
"or be on the front page of a magazine."
I didn't have any expectations of being financially successful from it.
It was never about making money. It was about trying to change ideas.
We're going for, sort of, a very natural, glowy skin,
We're going for, sort of, youthful sort of look.
One of the first things I did when I started the agency
was to hire the top photographers and hair and make-up artists in fashion
was to hire the top photographers and that I could find
to shoot curve models in a way that was fashionable.
Great. Beautiful.
REBECCA: She was Great. Beautiful.
REBECCA: She was getting photographers
REBECCA: She was to actually shoot her girls,
to show the industry that you don't have to be a frumpy person
to show the industry that because you're a plus size.
I'd been running Bella for quite a few years
I'd been running Bella and we were doing very well.
I had had an art director ring me and say,
"I met this girl at a casting the other day
"and she was really beautiful but she's clearly curvy,
"so I've suggested that she come in to meet you."
WOMAN: This was my last shot, in my opinion.
I was like, "If she doesn't sign me, then I'm just gonna quit
"and just continue just travelling the world
"and just doing my own thing." just travelling the world
"and just doing my own thing."
And she came in and I was sitting in my chair,
And she came in and I went, "Oh, my golly gosh!
"She is EXTRAORDINARY."
Here's your coffee.
Thank you. No worries.
I immediately could see where she was gonna go
and that she was going to be the bridge between fashion
and, you know, curve, or plus, modelling.
She would be the visual articulation of what I was trying to express.
She would be the visual articulation Just make sure you get lots of rest.
ROBYN: She's like, "Don't change anything."
You know, "Don't... You're perfect as is.
"You're gonna travel the world. You're gonna do so good.
"This is just the beginning."
And I was like, "Pull the other leg. I've been told this all before."
And I was like, "Pull the other leg. This is a new cover.
As soon as Robyn walked out of the meeting, I rang my mum.
She said, "Mum! Mum!
"I've just found the new supermodel of the world!"
Not 'plus-size supermodel' - supermodel.
ROBYN: I remember booking my first real big Cosmo editorial
and how much of a big deal that was back then,
but to get the foot in the door, it took Chelsea nonstop calling.
We're going to turn now to the woman they call
the Plus-Size Wonder From Down Under.
Robyn Lawley was the first plus-size model the Plus-Size Wonder From Down Under.
Robyn Lawley was the first plus-size model
to appear in the pages of Vogue Australia.
I got called a 'pig'. I got called 'hefty'.
AUDIENCE: Aw! It's fine.
I'm really confident and I love... you know, I love my body as it is.
But it was a shock, you know? (WILD CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Yeah. We need women to say that.
Yeah. Yeah.
I consider ourselves game-changers, yes, and a lot has changed.
I think in 10 years, an industry has blossomed
and we've finally seen what the power of diversity can bring.
But now I'm fighting diversity in a whole different realm.
It's bizarre. I did not see this coming. And it's come so quick.
NOLA: About mid-last year,
Chelsea told me that there are clients saying,
"Oh, we're not using live models anymore, we're using AI." Chelsea told me that there are clients saying,
"Oh, we're not using live models anymore, we're using AI."
I could see instantly how it was going to change her industry.
CHELSEA: One of the first introductions I had
to how it could be used in our industry
was Levi's, who said that they could introduce more "diversity"
into their advertising campaigns
by using fake AI humans
instead of just booking diverse talent.
No-one would have picked up on it instead of just booking diverse talent.
No-one would have picked up on it
if they didn't decide to proudly use it as a branding exercise
in, "Oh, isn't this great?
"We've got this new technology
"where we can make all of our models diverse."
And they were rightly getting, you know, ribbed about it in the press.
ROBYN: I couldn't believe that it actually happened,
because it was a brand I really loved.
That doesn't seem like diversity to me. That seems like the opposite.
Why not just hire, you know, a different model?
You know, why do it through a digital blackface?
And I think it's gonna take over a lot of jobs very quickly.
The photographers aren't hired, the make-up artists aren't hired,
The photographers aren't hired, the hairstylists aren't hired,
the studio isn't hired, the film crew isn't hired.
The whole industry isn't hired all of a sudden.
It's not just one model trying to make a buck,
it's a whole industry is going to suddenly collapse.
it's a whole industry is Hi.
Hey.
How are you? Good. How are you going?
And I started researching, well, who's doing something about this?
It's actually just gonna crush the trust of the general public...
Yeah. ..in what they're seeing.
Yeah. Yeah, you can't trust any image.
And then Robyn called me and she said,
"I've just written an article about AI."
"I've just written I said, "Well, funny about that,
"'cause I've just finished doing a whole heap of research about it,
"and I've just read a book called Man-Made by Tracey Spicer."
Hi! (LAUGHS) Hello! How are you?
Hi! (LAUGHS) Good. How are you?
It was hard to read but really important, I think,
It was hard to read to understand the scope of AI.
Yeah, after reading your book
and seeing how many industries are Yeah, after reading your book
and seeing how many industries are actually going to be affected by it,
I was, um, terrified.
As you go down this rabbit hole,
you realise that there's hundreds of thousands of these fake women
you realise that there's hundreds out there on the internet,
and there's no rules, out there on the internet,
and there's no rules, there's no laws,
there's no stoppages, there's no content warnings - there's nothing.
But, honestly, I did not think for a second
that it would be the talking point that it is this year, for example.
It's really come into the public consciousness.
Yeah. I think because it's advanced so much, so quickly.
That's right. You know, so...
While people were looking the other way
and governments were looking the other way.
Yes.
Legislation is not keeping up with the technology.
Our futures are being created by a small group
of predominantly young white men in Silicon Valley
who are creating a future that looks good for them
but not for everybody else.
I was really surprised to see how easy it was
to take anyone's image off the internet
to take anyone's image and make a nude photo from it.
It's terrifying, isn't it? It's terrifying!
And I imagine if this was done to you without your consent,
And I imagine if this was done you'd feel violated.
You can't tell that that's not really you.
So, if that ends up on... you know, on the Daily Mail,
So, if that ends up on... everyone will believe that's you.
A lot of these apps will sexualise everyone will believe that's you.
A lot of these apps will sexualise those images of women and girls
without me even asking it to do that.
We saw an example with the MP in Victoria, Georgie Purcell, without me even asking it to do that.
We saw an example with the MP in Victoria, Georgie Purcell,
where the Adobe Photoshop generative AI tool
gave her more of a midriff
and made her breasts slightly bigger.
This is like airbrushing on steroids.
CHELSEA: All of the AIs are generated using real people's photographs
that they have scraped without any permission.
They've data-scraped billions of photos
across every possible social media site that you can think of
in order to train the AIs to look human.
You could have your image stolen and not even know about it.
The algorithm creates what it says is a unique image from this,
but it's a breach of copyright billions of times over.
So, Midjourney is a website that you can go on
and you can type in, say, my name - "Robyn Lawley, sitting on a couch" -
you could get that image.
Um, you could also type in me doing weirder stuff.
You can go on Midjourney and type in
"Robyn Lawley dressed up in a panda suit".
She looks like me, but she's not me, so they can use it,
and they can...as much as they want, because it's not identical to me,
but it's a version of me.
From a legal point of view, but it's a version of me.
From a legal point of view,
generative AI is creating all sorts of disruptions.
In most cases, what generative AI produces is not a direct copy,
which means it's not clear who owns the original data
or whether the new images infringe copyright.
If the resemblance is only slight, not perfect,
they may have very few opportunities for complaint.
This is a very weird ground that we're entering, they may have very few opportunities for complaint.
This is a very weird ground that we're entering,
where your image can literally just be stolen and taken
and people can do anything they want with it.
And I think this is about... you know, about time
the government got a bit involved with it.
CHELSEA: There is currently no AI-specific legislation,
so there's nothing protecting the general public
from knowing whether we're looking at something that is real or not.
So, once I realised how few laws we had to protect us,
I asked Tracey and Robyn if they would join me
I asked Tracey and Robyn in launching a petition.
I couldn't think of any other way to, sort of, galvanise people.
And after a three-month campaign, we've got nearly 14,000 signatures,
which is pretty amazing.
And now that will go to an MP,
who'll take it into the House of Representatives.
REPORTER: What do these women have in common?
They're online models with more than a million followers combined -
and they're made from stolen images of real women.
CHELSEA: A week or two after we launched the petition,
I got a call from ABC News Investigations -
I got a call from Kevin and Michael over there -
who were working on a story about fake influencer accounts.
And so we spent the next month swapping notes, swapping contacts...
Hello! Hello!
So nice to meet you in person finally!
..helping each other get to the bottom
of how these AI people are being made and who's behind them.
We'd seen a little bit about AI models in tabloids,
and so we thought we'd better dig into it We'd seen a little bit about AI models in tabloids,
and so we thought we'd better dig into it
and work out who's actually behind this and what's going on.
You sent us down a very, very deep rabbit hole! (LAUGHS)
I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Yeah. No, well...
But you know what, it's nice to have company down there,
But you know what, it's nice because it's pretty dark.
It's not a... because it's pretty dark.
It's not a... It gets confusing.
When we first spoke, though, I think you identified something
that I don't think Michael and I ever expected to be a big thing,
which is where you don't take their face but you take their body,
and that becomes a lot more legally murky and grey.
Mm-hm.
So, I think you sent us this video.
VIDEO NARRATOR: I finally found it, guys - So, I think you sent us this video.
VIDEO NARRATOR: I finally found it, guys -
the easiest way to create your own AI influencer.
You know, what you're doing is you're taking someone else's content
and you're repurposing it, obviously for your own gain.
Don't you find that a lot of the press so far around that
has been a bit like, "Hey, isn't this great?
"We can just create fake people now and monetise them."
What's absent from that is how they actually do that,
which is the mass harvesting of someone else's image or videos.
And now it's up to you.
Build your own AI influencer and start monetising your swaps.
TRACEY SPICER: People deserve to know
whether the images they're seeing, the words they're reading TRACEY SPICER: People deserve to know
whether the images they're seeing, the words they're reading
are real or created by bots.
That's a human right in a transparent democracy.
The beginning of this is labelling it.
Any image uploaded onto social media or on the internet
has to have an AI warning label on it.
Social media companies, we've seen - over many years now -
we cannot trust them to self-regulate.
JEANNIE PATERSON: The Australian government at the moment
is thinking about how it regulates AI.
We don't want dangerous images online -
our e-safety commissioner is doing a really good job there - We don't want dangerous images online -
our e-safety commissioner is doing a really good job there -
but as we move from overtly dangerous or pornographic images
to images that bend truth or manipulate the truth,
how we regulate becomes actually more difficult.
how we regulate becomes But we really need to recognise
the moral rights of the creative industries,
the moral rights of humans to their own images,
and then take the conversation from there
in coming up with a solution.
Once we've got all the models and talent uploaded, um...
So, they use their 3-D technology to scan the model
and then turn it into an avatar.
I don't think that AI should be used to replicate a human being at all.
I just...I just find that fundamentally wrong.
But on the other side of that, the horse has bolted,
and so I've been developing an application
where the AI people are real people, real human beings,
who own the copyright to their own image.
Um, we've gotten to the pointy end with it -
how to make sure that everybody gets paid.
how to make sure So, the models, the photographers,
the stylists, the hair and make-up artists.
ROBYN: You can make your avatar real.
You could have your moles and freckles
and, you know, you could have you as a person.
You know, I think if YOU'VE had the chance to create it and label it
so people know that it's an avatar version of you,
so people know that then you have power
over what company is using it then you have power
over what company is using it and how they're using it.
I think having a product that's competitive but ethical
is the only way to beat them at their own game.
is the only way to beat them Absolutely.
CHELSEA: Trying to convince most of our clients not to use AI
is just the financial aspect of it and how much money they can save -
is just the financial aspect of it it's just too attractive for them.
So, we've tried to find a way
where they can utilise that same technology but in an ethical way
and know that they are contributing still to society.
(KNOCKS) Hey, Buckle! Good morning.
Miss Maria. Hello, Mr Bonner. How are you?
Miss Maria. So, how's the battle going?
We're starting to get a lot of support, which is amazing.
NOLA: She's not just trying to protect her own business,
she's trying to protect the creative industry as a whole.
Did you ever think you'd see anything like this in your lifetime?
No. No, I have to be honest. No.
I didn't think I'd see digital. True.
ROBYN: You know, this is affecting you directly, and your children.
What images are they gonna look at and think, "Is this a human?
"Should I compare my body to this body?"
"Should I compare my body I know what you're like,
and the opponent won't be happy I know what you're like,
and the opponent won't be happy with you on their case.
CHELSEA: Without rules, without governance,
this technology can very quickly get out of control,
and we just can't allow that to happen.
It's like I said, people - like, be careful. Watch out.
You have no idea what you're looking at.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation