Will AI-generated models help or hurt diversity in the industry?

Brands which are serious about social inclusion “will continue to hire these models of color,” says Lalaland.ai CEO and innovator Michael Musandu

CHICAGO (AP) – London model Alexsandrah has a twin, but not in the way you may expect: Her counterpart is fabricated from pixels, not flesh and blood.

The virtual twin was generated by artificial intelligence and appeared as a alternative for the real Alexsandra Photo session. Alexsandrah, who uses her name professionally, receives credit and compensation each time her version of the AI ​​is used – similar to a human model.

Alexsandrah says she and her alter ego mirror one another “even down to the little hairs.” This is one other example of AI transformation creative industries – and the way people may or might not be compensated.

Advocates say the growing use of artificial intelligence in fashion modeling showcases diversity in all sizes and shapes, enabling consumers to make more tailored purchasing decisions, which in turn reduces fashion waste resulting from product returns. Digital modeling saves corporations money and creates opportunities for individuals who wish to work with this technology.

But critics have raised concerns that digital modeling could put models – in addition to other professionals equivalent to make-up artists and photographers – out of labor. Unsuspecting consumers will also be fooled into considering that AI models are real, and firms can take credit for meeting diversity commitments without employing real humans.

“Fashion is exclusive, and people of color have limited opportunities to enter it,” said Sara Ziff, a former model and founding father of Model Alliance, a nonprofit organization that goals to advance employees’ rights in the fashion industry. “I think the use of AI to distort racial representation and marginalize actual models of color exposes this disturbing discrepancy between the industry’s stated intentions and its actual actions.”

Especially women of color have long faced higher barriers to entry in modeling and artificial intelligence could upend a few of the achievements they’ve achieved. The data suggests that girls usually tend to work in professions where a given technology could and is used more liable to displacement than men.

In March 2023, iconic jeans brand Levi Strauss & Co. announced that it can test AI-generated models produced by Amsterdam-based Lalaland.ai so as to add a wider range of body types and underrepresented demographics to its website. However, after receiving widespread backlash, Levi clarified that she was not backing down from her plans for live photo shoots, the use of live models, or her involvement with diverse models.

“We do not see this (AI) pilot as a way to increase diversity or as a substitute for real action that needs to be taken to achieve our diversity, equity and inclusion goals, and it should not have been presented this way,” Levi said in his statement then.

Last month, the company said it had no plans to scale its AI program.

The Associated Press reached out to several other retailers to ask whether or not they use artificial intelligence fashion models. Target, Kohl’s and fast fashion giant Shein declined to comment; He didn’t reply to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, spokespeople for Nieman Marcus, H&M, Walmart and Macy’s said their corporations don’t use artificial intelligence models, although Walmart clarified that “suppliers may have a different approach to the photography they provide for their products, but we do not have that information.”

Nevertheless, corporations that generate artificial intelligence models are finding demand for the technology, including Lalaland.ai, which Michael Musandu co-founded after he became frustrated by the lack of clothing models that looked like him.

“One model does not represent everyone who actually shops and buys the product,” he said. “As a person of color, I have felt this painfully myself.”

Musandu says his product is meant to enhance traditional photo sessions, not replace them. Instead of seeing one model, shoppers could see 9 to 12 models using different sized filters, which might enrich their shopping experience and help reduce product returns and fashion waste.

The technology actually creates recent jobs because Lalaland.ai pays people to coach its algorithms, Musandu said.

And if brands “are serious about their inclusivity efforts, they will continue to hire these models of color,” he added.

Black London model Alexsandrah says her digital counterpart has helped her stand out in the fashion industry. The real Alexsandrah even replaced a computer-generated black model named Shudu, created by Cameron Wilson, a former fashion photographer turned CEO of The Diigitals, a British digital modeling agency.

Wilson, who’s white and uses he/she pronouns, designed Shudu in 2017, featured on Instagram as “the world’s first digital supermodel”. However, critics at the time accused Wilson of cultural appropriation and digital blackface.

Wilson took the experience as a lesson and transformed The Diigitals to ensure that Shudu – which he was booked by Louis Vuitton AND BMW — didn’t take away opportunity, but as an alternative opened up opportunities for girls of color. For example, Alexsandrah does She personally posed as Shudu for Vogue Australiaand author Ama Badu got here up with the story of Shudu i portrays his voice in interviews.

Alexsandrah said she is “extremely proud” of her work with The Diigitals, which created her very own AI twin: “It’s something that even when we’re gone, future generations will be able to look back and think, ‘These are pioneers» .’”

But for Yve Edmond, a New York model who works with major retailers to check the fit of clothes before selling to consumers, the rise of artificial intelligence in modeling seems more insidious.

Edmond worries that modeling agencies and companies are using models, who are generally independent contractors who have few labor protections in the U.S., to use their photos to train artificial intelligence systems without their consent or compensation.

She described one incident in which a client asked to photograph Edmond moving his arms, crouching and walking for “research” purposes. Edmond refused and later felt cheated – her modeling agency told her she was booked for a fitting, not to build an avatar.

“This is a complete violation of the law,” she said. “It was really disappointing for me.”

However, in the absence of AI regulations, it is the responsibility of companies to be transparent and ethical in the implementation of AI technologies. Ziff, founder of Model Alliance, compares the current lack of legal protection for fashion industry workers to the “Wild West.”

That’s why Model Alliance is pushing for legislation like the one being considered in New York State, which would provide for: Fashion Workers Act would require management companies and brands to obtain express written consent from models to create or use a digital replica of a model; specify the amount and duration of compensation and prohibit the modification or manipulation of the digital replica of models without consent.

Alexsandrah says that with ethical use and proper regulation, AI can open doors for more models of color like her. It has informed its clients that it has an AI replica and directs any inquiries about its use to Wilson, whom it describes as “someone I do know, love, trust and is my friend.” Wilson says they make sure that any compensation for Alexsandrah’s AI is comparable to what she would earn in person.

Edmond, however, is more of a purist: “We have this amazing Earth that we live on. And you have a person of every color, every height and every size. Why not find this person and compensate him?”

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