CHICAGO (AP) — London-based model Alexandra has a twin, but it’s not how you’d expect: Her twin is made of pixels rather than flesh.
The virtual twin was generated by artificial intelligence and has already appeared as a stand-in for the real Alexandra in photo shoots, and Alexandra, who goes by her first name professionally, receives credit and compensation every time the AI version of herself is used, just like a human model.
Alexandra says she and her alternate self are mirror images of each other “down to the hair”.It’s yet another example of how AI is transforming the creative industries and changing how humans get and don’t get paid.
Proponents argue that the increased use of AI in fashion modeling will show diversity in all shapes and sizes, empower consumers to make more customized purchasing decisions, and ultimately reduce fashion waste due to returns. Digital modeling also saves companies money and creates opportunities for those who want to take advantage of the technology.
But critics worry that digital models could take away jobs from human models and other professionals like makeup artists and photographers, that unsuspecting consumers could be fooled into thinking the AI models are real, and that companies could brag about meeting diversity commitments without hiring actual people.
“The fashion industry is exclusionary and there are limited opportunities for people of color to enter,” said Sarah Ziff, a former fashion model and founder of the nonprofit Model Alliance, which works to improve worker rights in the fashion industry. “Using AI to distort racial representation and marginalize actual models of color, I think, exposes a troubling gap between the industry’s stated intentions and its actual actions.”
Women of color in particular have long faced higher barriers to entry into the modeling industry, and AI could reverse some of the gains they have made: Data shows that women are more likely than men to work in tech-enabled professions, putting them at greater risk of losing their jobs.
In March 2023, denim brand Levi Strauss announced it was testing AI-generated models created by Amsterdam-based company Lalaland.ai to add a wider range of body types and underrepresented demographics to its website. However, after widespread backlash, Levi clarified that it had no plans to back down from its plans for live photoshoots, using live models, and working with more diverse models.
“We do not view this (AI) pilot as a means to advance diversity or a substitute for real actions we must take to achieve our diversity, equity and inclusion goals, and it should not have been portrayed that way,” Levy said in a statement at the time.
The company said last month that it had no plans to expand its AI program.
The Associated Press reached out to several other retailers to ask whether they use AI fashion models. Target, Kohl’s and fast-fashion giant Shine declined to comment. Tem did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, spokespeople for Neiman Marcus, H&M, Walmart and Macy’s said they don’t use AI models, but Walmart clarified that “suppliers may take different approaches to the photos they provide for their products and we do not have that information.”
Still, companies that generate AI models are seeing demand for the technology, such as Lalaland.ai, co-founded by Michael Musandu, who was frustrated by the lack of clothing models that looked like him.
“One model doesn’t represent everyone who actually goes out and buys,” he says, “and as a person of color, I’ve found this very real.”
Musandu says the product complements traditional photoshoots, not replaces them: instead of seeing one model, shoppers can see nine to 12 models with different sized filters, enriching the shopping experience and helping to reduce returns and fashion waste.
Musandu said the technology is actually creating new jobs because Lalaland.ai is paying humans to train its algorithms.
And if brands are “serious about inclusion, they will continue to hire these models of color,” he added.
Alexandra, a black London-based model, says digital modeling has helped her gain more visibility in the fashion industry. In fact, the real-life Alexandra has even represented Shudu, a black computer model created by Cameron Wilson, a former fashion photographer who is now CEO of UK-based digital model agency The Digitals.
Wilson, who is white and uses “they/them” pronouns, designed Shudu in 2017 and described herself as “the world’s first digital supermodel” on Instagram, but critics at the time accused Wilson of cultural appropriation and digital blackface.
Wilson learned from this experience and restructured The Digitals so that Shudu, who has been hired by Louis Vuitton and BMW, would open up possibilities for women of color rather than deny them opportunities. For example, Alexandra modeled as Shudu for Vogue Australia, and writer Ama Badu wrote Shudu’s backstory and voiced her in interviews.
Alexandra said she was “very proud” of her work with The Digitals, which created her AI twin. “It’s something that, when we’re no longer with us, future generations can look back and say, ‘Those were the pioneers.'”
But for Eve Edmond, a New York City-based model who works with major retailers to check the fit of clothes before they are sold to consumers, the rise of AI in fashion modeling feels more insidious.
Edmond is concerned that modeling agencies and companies are using photos of models to train AI systems without their consent or compensation, exploiting models, who in the US are typically independent contractors with few labor protections.
She told of one time a client asked Edmond to photograph her moving her arms, crouching, walking, etc. for “research” purposes: Edmond refused, and later said she felt deceived: Her modeling agency told her they’d booked her for a fitting, not to create an avatar.
“This is a total violation,” she said. “It was a real shame for me.”
But without AI regulation, it’s up to companies to be transparent and ethical in their adoption of AI technology. Ziff, the Model Alliance founder, likens the current lack of legal protections for people working in the fashion industry to the “Wild West.”
That’s why the Model Alliance is pushing for legislation like the one being considered in New York state, where provisions of the Fashion Workers Act would require management companies and brands to get explicit written consent from models before creating or using digital replicas of models, specify the amount and duration of compensation, and prohibit them from altering or manipulating the model’s digital replica without consent.
Alexandra says that with ethical use and proper legal regulation, AI could open up more avenues for models of color like her. She tells clients about the AI replica and directs any inquiries about its use through Wilson, who she describes as “someone I know, love, trust and am a friend.” Wilson says she ensures that Alexandra’s AI is paid on par with what she would receive directly.
But Edmond is more of a purist: “We live on this amazing planet, and there are people of every skin color, every height, every shape and build. Why not find that person and compensate them?”
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Associated Press writers Ann D’Innocenzio and Hallelujah Hadero contributed to this report from New York.
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