COMM 555: New Media Narratives

Crafting My Digital Me: A Journey Through AI, Identity, and Ethics In today's digital age, our online presence is increasingly shaping how we interact with the world. But what does it mean to create a digital self-representation? Recently, I embarked on a project to explore this concept, using AI tools to craft an avatar that reflects who I am. This journey offered valuable insights into the complexities of digital identity, the power of AI, and the ethical considerations that come with it. Shaping My Digital Self with AI For my project, I opted for a free approach, utilizing websites like Vance AI and Bing Image Generator. Uploading a regular photo, I was able to generate an anime-style avatar (talk about living the weeb dream!). While the result was undeniably cool, it also lacked certain nuances. The AI smoothed out my blemishes, evened out my skin tone, and applied a softer, more idealized look. This sparked a realization: how much control do we have over how AI portrays us? Ar