Are real entrepreneurs with disabilities losing business to fakes?

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Real entrepreneurs with disabilities are losing business to AI-generated fakes.

AI-generated videos featuring individuals with Down syndrome and other disadvantaged groups are gaining millions of views by promoting struggling businesses, but advocates and researchers state this practice harms the livelihoods and businesses of real individuals. These AI characters often claim to be bullied while selling crafts, using disparaging language about people with disabilities, and directing users to suspicious online storefronts. This trend exploits stereotypes and can divert business away from actual entrepreneurs with Down syndrome.
AI-generated creators are being used to exploit empathy for profit.

The AI-generated clips are part of a wider pattern of using artificial intelligence to create content that evokes empathy for groups perceived as disadvantaged, including people with disabilities, Black individuals, and the elderly, with the ultimate goal of driving sales. These AI characters often claim to be bullied while selling handmade crafts, employing language that disparages people with disabilities. This practice plays into stereotypes, such as the notion that people with Down syndrome require pity, as noted by Nathan Rowe, programme director at Down Syndrome International.
The AI content diverts business from genuine creators.

Advocates like Nathan Rowe argue that these AI-generated videos "crowd-out" content from actual entrepreneurs with Down syndrome, potentially siphoning away business. Some pottery products featured in the AI videos were previously seen in content from real creators, and a crochet bag design was found for sale on Shein, a platform commonly used by dropshippers, suggesting it may not be handmade. This appropriation of authentic creators' work and the use of AI figures reinforces a narrative that can undermine the perception of capabilities of individuals with Down syndrome.
Social media platforms are struggling to curb the spread of deceptive content.

While social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube have community guidelines prohibiting deceptive, manipulative, or discriminatory activities, the proliferation of these AI-generated accounts indicates a profit-driven scheme that is difficult to track. Jeremy Carrasco, co-founder of AI research firm Riddance, points to systemic failures, including the ease of creating AI videos and the challenges in monitoring them, as contributing factors to their widespread dissemination. Although many of the examined videos are no longer active, some accounts continue to share AI-generated clips to promote products.
The trend of exploiting vulnerable identities for profit is ongoing.

This is not the first instance of appropriating disadvantaged people for online attention or profit. Down Syndrome International has previously reported sexualized deep-fakes of people with Down syndrome to Meta, leading to the removal of many videos. Similar AI-generated figures have been used to sell products, with elderly synthetic characters also appearing in such schemes. AFP has previously investigated a trend of videos using seniors' identities to encourage sympathetic purchases, highlighting a persistent issue of exploiting vulnerable groups for commercial gain.

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Are real entrepreneurs with disabilities losing business to fakes?

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