Celebrities are telling women to use more AI or be 'left behind.' Their followers aren't having it

If women require to stay fresh up with the fast-moving domain of unreal intelligence agency, they should … give their bank statements to an AI assistant?

Author and podcaster Mel Robbins faced blowback this month after telling her 12.3 million Instagram followers to use more AI, including suggesting that they input their financial information to "save time and money," while touting her partnership with Microsoft Copilot.

Her post echoes recent messaging from other public figures, including actress Reese Witherspoon, encouraging women to use AI more or risk being left behind as the world advances. It's a sentiment that's not sitting well with their followers, and that some experts say is worrying.

“You cannot be left behind,” Robbins warned in her post, referencing Harvard University research that found women use AI less than men do. 

Commenters swiftly condemned Robbins' advice, with one saying it felt like she was "reading a script written by someone who's kidnapped you and is holding you for ransom."

Canadian gynecologist Jen Gunter made a post in response, telling people never to upload their financial information to AI and adding that "it’s disgusting" to say women using less AI than men "somehow means that they are being left behind."

But other celebrities and women in tech have been pushing a similar concept.

Last month, Reese Witherspoon faced backlash for a video she shared to Instagram and Threads, in which she gave an anecdote about a book club meeting where only three out of 10 women said they use AI. 

"I think we should all learn the basics together and learn some really good tools that are going to make our everyday lives easier and better," she said in the video. 

"It's time, people." 

In her post, she wrote that women's jobs are three times more likely to be automated by AI, seemingly citing a UN report from last year in her push for other women to learn the technology with her.

Commenters responded ferociously, accusing her of fearmongering and "shilling" for "tech bros." 

"Has it occurred to you that women use it less because we’re not lazy or stupid?" asked author CD Reiss. 

Other veteran Hollywood stars have made similar comments, despite concerns about the technology taking work away from human actors and filmmakers.

Actress Demi Moore, when asked last month about AI regulation, said those in the movie business are "probably not" doing enough to protect themselves from AI, but said the technology "is here. And so to fight it is to fight something that is a battle that we will lose.” 

"We have to lean into it," said fellow actress Sandra Bullock, when asked about the issue last month, though she added people should be "cautious."

Doria says the fear of women being left behind is genuine — tech spaces have historically been male-dominated — and those promoting the technology may have good intentions.

But she says pushing adoption without critical AI literacy — understanding the technologies, who is building them, who benefits from them and what their biases are — is irresponsible framing that does "more harm than good."

"If you have no critical AI literacy and you tell people, 'Hey, you have to use generative AI because that is the future,' what will happen is you'll have millions of women outsourcing their brains to generative AI."

In the tech world, AI use is in some cases being more explicitly framed as a feminist issue.

Charter co-founder Erin Grau wrote in Time magazine in January that the technology "could be the great equalizer we’ve been fighting for, giving women the support, efficiency, and confidence that the prior systems have consistently failed to provide.”

Former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg said her Lean In nonprofit hired 25-year-old CEO Bridget Griswold in part to address the "AI gender gap." 

In an April blog post, Griswold wrote that women need to embrace AI if they want to protect their livelihoods and advance their careers. She said LeanIn's research showing women are 38 per cent more likely to have ethical reservations about AI is "a sign of thoughtfulness that may nonetheless slow adoption." 

"I don't believe that AI is this social good that I'm being left behind from. So, to have these women tell me that — and, it feels like, out of naked greed — feels very disappointing," Kong said, explaining why she thinks there's been such a strong backlash online.

Witherspoon acknowledged people's "valid concerns" in a follow-up to her initial post, saying, "To be clear, no one is paying me to talk about this." 

Despite the backlash, Kong says some will likely take the celebrities' advice, because people have been "trained" to prioritize convenience over privacy and security.

But she adds that it's also important to focus on the broader lack of regulation and the powerful companies in charge of the technology as it becomes increasingly pervasive.

"Mel Robbins should definitely know that you shouldn't just upload all of your financial information to a nameless, faceless AI bot. And yet, at the same time, she didn't make the bot," Kong said. "There's plenty of blame to go around."

Digital Writer

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