The AI ’80s trend is fun, but maybe stop handing over your face to every viral trend

If you are on social media (obviously, you are), then you’ve probably noticed by now how the internet has collectively decided that we all need to know what we would have looked like in the 1980s. One minute you’re sitting at your desk in an oversized T-shirt, doomscrolling through Instagram, and the next you’re staring at yourself with giant hair, blue eyeshadow, shoulder pads, and the general energy of a woman who definitely owned a landline phone with a very long cord. The latest AI trend is everywhere, and honestly, some of the results are ridiculously good. We understand the temptation.

But can we talk about the fact that we have apparently reached a point where we will hand an AI tool a perfectly clear picture of our face because it might make us look like a glamorous lass from 1987? Weren’t we all suspicious of AI stealing our data about five minutes ago? We were told to be careful about what personal information we fed these tools. We had endless conversations about privacy, data collection, facial recognition, and the possibility of AI being misused. And now? The same internet that was convinced AI was going to steal everyone’s identity is voluntarily uploading high-resolution selfies for an Instagram trend that will probably be replaced by something else before your coffee gets cold.

Remember when AI first started becoming a huge part of everyday life? There was a lot of scepticism, and rightly so. People were worried about jobs, misinformation, copyright, privacy, and what companies could potentially do with all the information being fed into these systems. AI companies spent plenty of time explaining how the technology could actually be useful, from helping people write and research to making complicated tasks easier. And now we’re using it to decide what we would have looked like in an old family album.

The problem isn’t that an AI-generated ’80s photo is inherently dangerous. Nobody needs to call the authorities because you gave yourself a voluminous blow-dry using AI. The problem is how casually we have started handing over personal information without stopping to think about where it goes.

And there’s another question worth asking: how much of this is actually organic? AI trends don’t just appear out of nowhere. They spread because people share them, creators demonstrate them, celebrities participate in them, and platforms amplify content that gets engagement. There is, inevitably, a commercial incentive for AI companies to make their tools fun, shareable, and easy to use. The more appealing the trend, the more people are encouraged to upload photos, videos, voices and other personal information to try it for themselves.

That doesn’t mean every viral AI trend is a carefully engineered scheme to collect your face. But it is worth recognising that there is a business model sitting behind the fun. If a company can turn data collection into something that feels like entertainment, users may be far more willing to hand over information they would otherwise think twice about sharing. The genius of these trends, if you look at them cynically, is that nobody has to convince you to upload your data. You volunteer it because you want to see what you’d look like with Farrah Fawcett hair.

Your face is personal data. Biometric information can be particularly sensitive because, unlike a password, you can’t exactly change your face if that information is compromised. We have, time and again, been warned about the privacy and security risks around biometric information, while AI companies have their own rules about how uploaded content may be stored or used. And while those policies vary from service to service, the simplest way to avoid handing over information is, well, not to hand it over in the first place.

That doesn’t mean every selfie you upload is immediately being turned into a digital clone of you. The internet loves that particular horror story, but the reality is more complicated. Different AI services have different data policies, retention practices, and controls. Some may use user content to improve their models depending on your settings. That is exactly why you should know what you’re agreeing to before you start feeding the machine your face.

It is also time we stop letting the algorithm make all our decisions. This is the part that should bother us more than the actual AI trend. We have become incredibly comfortable with participating in things simply because they are everywhere. A celebrity does it. Your college friend does it. Your favourite influencer posts hers. Suddenly, you’re uploading three selfies, one childhood picture, and a photo of your dog because apparently you need to know what all of you would have looked like in the ’80s.

And there is something slightly ironic about this. We spent years being told to question technology, understand what and how much we were giving companies, and think about the long-term consequences of making everything digital. Then the internet dangled a funny filter in front of us, and we collectively went, “Sure, here’s my face.”

This isn’t about being anti-AI. AI can be genuinely useful. It is more about developing a little bit of common sense around what we use it for and what we give it. You don’t have to participate in every trend just because your entire “Insta fam” is doing it.

So, before you upload that selfie, take ten seconds to check what the tool says about your image, whether your content can be used for training, how long it may be retained, and what privacy controls are available. And if you decide you’re fine with all of that, go forth and get your ’80s hair.

Just maybe don’t pretend we weren’t warned.

Lead image: IMDb

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