Reese Witherspoon has established herself as a businesswoman dedicated to feminism. Her media brand Hello Sunshine’s mission is to “put ladies on the heart of each story,” and her much-memed quote that “ladies’s tales matter—they only matter!” is sort of as recognizable as her roles in Legally Blonde and Huge Little Lies.
However Witherspoon’s latest Instagram post has social media questioning that picture. The actress inspired ladies to get educated about AI, lest they be “left behind” because the know-how comes for his or her careers.
In her video, Witherspoon described being at a e book membership with 10 different ladies and asking them about their AI utilization. Of the ten, she stated, solely three had been utilizing synthetic intelligence, and just one stated she felt like she knew what she was doing. In keeping with Witherspoon, this can be a large downside.
“The factor I’ve realized about know-how is, in case you don’t get somewhat little bit of understanding from the very starting, it simply speeds previous you. So you must have little bits of studying simply to maintain up,” she stated.
Reese doubled down within the caption, writing: “The AI revolution has begun, and I have to study as a lot as I presumably can about AI and share it with all of you. Additionally, FYI: The roles ladies maintain are 3x extra more likely to be automated by AI, but ladies are utilizing AI at a price 25% decrease than males on common. We don’t wish to be left behind. So . . . do you wish to study with me?”
Nonetheless, Witherspoon’s framing of AI utilization as a feminist crucial has been rubbing a lot of her followers the incorrect approach.
“This isn’t a feminist transfer, IMO,” wrote one commenter on Instagram. “It’s submitting to a know-how that’s devastating to poor communities and the surroundings.”
“We aren’t being left behind; we’re refusing a future that isn’t designed for us,” echoed one other. “How about you utilize your privilege to withstand as an alternative of appearing like that is all inevitable?”
It’s not the primary time Witherspoon has voiced her help for AI use by ladies. In an interview with Glamour final September, she stated, “It’s so, so vital that ladies are concerned in AI as a result of it is going to be the way forward for filmmaking.”
Witherspoon’s rocky historical past with tech developments
The social media backlash to Witherspoon’s publish additionally follows the businesswoman’s rocky historical past with developments in know-how.
Throughout the non-fungible token (NFT) increase of the early 2020s, Witherspoon was a vocal supporter of the know-how, once posting that “within the (close to) future, each particular person could have a parallel digital identification. Avatars, crypto wallets, digital items would be the norm.” Her transfer into NFTs additionally had a feminist spin: She promoted the World of Women NFT collection, which marketed itself as balancing illustration within the NFT area. In 2022, Hi there Sunshine even partnered with World of Ladies to adapt its NFTs into movies and TV shows.
After all, the NFT bubble popped not lengthy after Witherspoon received concerned, main some social media customers to jot down off her help for AI as extra misguided enthusiasm for a fad.
“She’s actually good at predicting the long run,” one poster joked, accompanied by a screenshot of an article about her World of Ladies partnership.
“DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS LADY. SHE TRIED TO GET YOU TO BUY NFTS,” posted another.
Witherspoon’s workforce declined to touch upon the social media backlash.
But when Witherspoon’s historical past with NFTs already had social media feeling suspicious, her different connections—together with to funding firm Blackstone—are throwing hypothesis into overdrive.
Blackstone backs Candle Media, and thru Candle, it bought majority shares of Hello Sunshine for more than $500 million in 2021. Blackstone has since turn out to be the main investor in AI knowledge facilities, together with a $25 billion investment in Pennsylvania’s AI infrastructure last summer.
Now social media customers are questioning whether or not Witherspoon has investments in AI past what she’s representing to her fan base. “Anybody pushing you to make use of AI has their very own vested curiosity in it,” one viral post on X claimed in response to Witherspoon’s assertion. (There isn’t any proof that Witherspoon was paid for her publish selling AI.)
“She has her cash invested in it,” alleged another user—including that “what actually must cease” is pandering to underrepresented communities and claiming they should embrace the know-how, “when AI is already hurting black and [poor] communities in actual time. Simply say you care extra about cash than individuals’s well being and the surroundings and maintain it pushing.”
“Be very cautious as they attempt to girlboss gaslight AI,” wrote a third person.
Different celebs on the AI bandwagon
Although Witherspoon’s pro-AI sentiment was controversial, she’s not the one iconic actress embracing the know-how.
Kerry Washington, Witherspoon’s costar in Little Fires In all places, commented “THIS” on her publish in obvious help. In the meantime, Sandra Bullock shared a really comparable message whereas selling her upcoming movie, Sensible Magic 2.
“[AI is] right here. We now have to look at it. We now have to know it. We now have to lean into it. We now have to make use of it in a extremely constructive and artistic approach, make it our pal,” Bullock stated. “I imply, we now have to be extremely cautious and conscious of it as a result of there are individuals who will use it for evil and never good. However I do really feel that there’s a spot for it.”
